Supreme Court Dismisses Abu Salem’s Plea
The Abu Salem Premature Release plea was dismissed by the Supreme Court today in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, in which gangster Abu Salem is serving a life sentence. Salem had sought premature release by asking the Court to count his undertrial custody and earned prison remission towards the 25-year imprisonment ceiling arising from India’s extradition assurances to Portugal.
A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta pronounced the verdict.
At the previous hearing, after considering submissions made by Senior Advocate Rishi Malhotra on Salem’s behalf, the Supreme Court had indicated that it would dismiss the plea. However, the bench reserved its order and allowed the parties to submit written arguments along with supporting judgments.
Salem Sought Set-Off for Undertrial Custody
Malhotra argued that the period Salem spent in custody as an undertrial should count towards his sentence, in accordance with the direction of the TADA Court.
He further submitted that Salem should receive credit for remission earned through good conduct while calculating his actual period of imprisonment.
Malhotra distinguished earned remission from statutory remission available under Section 432 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). He clarified that Salem was not seeking statutory remission under that provision.
According to the submissions, Salem had accumulated approximately three years and two months of remission for good conduct. Malhotra also argued that authorities had released other convicts after accounting for such remission.
He contended that the Bombay High Court had incorrectly distinguished Salem’s case by concluding that the 25-year period arising from the extradition assurance did not constitute a fixed-term sentence and, therefore, earned remission could not reduce that period.
After hearing the arguments, the Supreme Court reserved its order and directed the parties to submit their written submissions and supporting judgments within one week.
Bombay High Court Rejected Plea in April 2025
In April 2025, the Bombay High Court rejected Abu Salem’s plea for premature release.
In the judgment challenged before the Supreme Court, the High Court held that the 25-year period contemplated by the Supreme Court had not yet ended. According to the High Court, the period would expire only in November 2030.
It consequently held that Salem’s attempt to include earned remission while calculating the 25-year period was both premature and misconceived.
India Gave Extradition Assurance to Portugal
On December 17, 2002, India assured Portugal that Salem would neither face the death penalty nor remain imprisoned for more than 25 years if Portugal extradited him to India.
Salem relied on these assurances as well as the Supreme Court’s July 2022 judgment concerning the extradition arrangement.
In that judgment, the Supreme Court relied on the treaty with Portugal and held that, in accordance with the treaty, Salem would have to be released after completing 25 years in jail.
Salem Claimed Custody and Remission Totalled Nearly 25 Years
Salem claimed that he remained in undertrial custody for approximately 11 years, 9 months and 26 days, between November 2005 and September 2017.
He further claimed that he had spent another 9 years, 10 months and 4 days in custody as a convict.
In addition, Salem claimed three years and sixteen days of remission for good conduct in the 2006 case. He also relied on an additional one-month relaxation granted by the Supreme Court for the period he spent as an undertrial prisoner in Portugal.
According to Salem, these periods together amounted to nearly 25 years of imprisonment. He argued that his continued incarceration violated Article 21 of the Constitution and sought directions requiring the authorities to specify his exact date of release.
High Court Refused to Deduct Earned Remission
The Bombay High Court rejected Salem’s contention that earned remission could reduce the 25-year ceiling created by the extradition arrangement.
The High Court observed that the 25-year cap itself amounted to a substantial remission of a life sentence necessitated by India’s international obligations.
It reasoned that allowing ordinary prison remissions to further shorten the 25-year period would undermine the Supreme Court’s directions and the basis of the sentence structure resulting from the extradition treaty.
The High Court also found nothing in the Supreme Court’s 2022 judgment indicating that remission earned under prison rules could shorten the stipulated 25-year period.
High Court Calculated Release Period From November 2005
The High Court noted that Salem was first arrested on November 11, 2005. On a straightforward calculation from that date, it concluded that the stipulated 25-year period would expire only in November 2030.
It further clarified that remission available under Rule 4(a), (b) and (c) of the Maharashtra Prisons (Remission System) Rules, 1962, could not reduce the fixed 25-year threshold.
Similarly, the High Court held that remission under Section 432 of the Code of Criminal Procedure could not shorten that period.
The Supreme Court’s dismissal of the Abu Salem Premature Release plea means his challenge to the Bombay High Court’s decision seeking an earlier release has failed.
