PUNE/MUMBAI: After 23 days in prison, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, sentenced to six years of imprisonment in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, on Thursday walked free from a Pune jail on an interim bail.

Dutt's freedom may be short-lived as the actor will have to return to the jail once the November 28, 2006 judgement of the TADA court convicting him under the Arms Act is made available to him.

The actor, accompanied by his lawyer Satish Maneshinde and fellow convict Yusuf Nulwala, arrived at Mumbai by a chartered flight and reached his house at 8.25 am to an emotional welcome by his MP sister Priya Dutt, other close relatives and friends.

His sister Namrata, brothers-in-law Kumar Gaurav and Owen Roncon, film producer Bunti Wallia, close friend and MLA Baba Siddiqui and others were present to greet him at the entrance of the building.

With his hair cut short and beard grown, Dutt, clad in a blue jeans and white shirt, was hugged by all of them upon getting out of the car.

Seeing mediapersons perched on the fence of an adjoining building and calling him, Sanjay smiled at them and said "not now, later," before entering the building.

The Supreme Court granted an interim bail to the actor four days ago. A TADA court in Mumbai, which convicted him, yesterday issued the order for Dutt's release from Yerawada jail in Pune after his lawyers completed legal formalities.

Maneshinde told reporters that right now, Dutt wants to spend time with his family and other issues, like whether he will be starting work on his films, would be decided later.

"The most important thing is to spend time with his family which he is doing," he said.