Supreme Court Rejects Abu Salem's Plea for Early Release

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea by Abu Salem, a convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, seeking release from prison on the grounds that he had completed a 25 year jail term. Salem was extradited from Portugal in 2005 after the Indian government provided a sovereign assurance that he would not face the death penalty or imprisonment exceeding 25 years. While special courts sentenced him to life imprisonment in 2015 and 2017, the Supreme Court commuted these sentences to a maximum of 25 years in July 2022 to honor the extradition agreement.

Salem's legal team argued that his sentence should be calculated from September 18, 2002, when he was detained in Portugal. He further contended that undertrial custody and earned remission for good conduct should be deducted from his term, which he claimed meant he had already served over 26 years. The Supreme Court rejected these arguments, stating that the requested calculation lacked legal foundation and would allow for a double benefit by counting overlapping periods of custody. The court also ruled that the 25 year cap does not convert his life sentence into a fixed term sentence, meaning remission cannot be deducted from that period.

The court emphasized the gravity of the crimes, noting that the acts were intended to destabilize the country and undermine economic progress by targeting Mumbai. The ruling upheld a previous decision by the Bombay High Court from April 15 that dismissed the petition for release.