Mumbai, Aug. 27: Sanjay Dutt today received a gift from the court that had sentenced him to jail — a month’s freedom.

The actor (in PTI picture), who must go back to prison as soon as he is handed a copy of the judgment, had arrived at the Tada (anti-terror) court this morning to receive it. He was told the copy would be available on September 27 instead of August 27 — the deadline the court had earlier set.

During the next one month, the 48-year-old actor will watch movies, spend time with family and friends and work a bit to finish his pending projects, a family friend said.

“But above all, his priority would be to spend time with (his girlfriend) Maanyata. He doesn’t want to stay away from her for even a minute,” the friend added.

Sanjay, handed a six-year term on July 31 in connection with the 1993 Bombay blasts, walked out of Pune’s Yerwada jail last week after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail till he received a copy of the judgment.

Maanyata had followed him all the way to Pune and parked herself in the city while Sanjay stayed behind bars for nearly three weeks.

Although she is not a favourite with the rest of the Dutt family, Maanyata has been a constant in Sanjay’s life for the last year and a half.

The couple went to a preview of Sanjay’s upcoming release, Dhamaal, on Sunday night with a group of friends.

While Sanjay’s producers are hoping he would use his bail period to complete large chunks of pending projects, the actor seems more in the mood for love.

He is scheduled to finish his home production Alibaug first. Next in the queue are Abbas Mastan’s Mr Fraud and Sanjay “Dhoom” Gadhvi’s Kidnap. Both films have over half the work left to be done.

Today, Sanjay said he had full faith in the country’s judiciary. “I love my people. I love my fans. Thanks. Thank you very much. I thank the press. Thank you very much for being supportive,” he told reporters during a brief interaction.