Supreme Court rejects Abu Salem’s plea seeking release from custody

The Supreme Court has rejected Abu Salem’s plea seeking release from custody, upholding the Bombay High Court’s decision that his request was premature. A two-judge bench dismissed Salem’s challenge to the High Court’s refusal to order his immediate release.

Salem’s plea was based on a 25-year limit linked to the terms of his extradition from Portugal. He argued that the period had already been completed and that his detention as an undertrial, along with remission earned during his imprisonment, should be counted towards the term.

The Supreme Court, however, upheld the Bombay High Court’s assessment of the relevant period. The High Court had held that the 25-year term would end in November 2030, meaning Salem’s request for release at this stage was premature.

Extradition terms and the 25-year limit

Salem was extradited from Portugal on November 11, 2005. The extradition terms barred India from imposing the death penalty on him. His plea relied on the limit associated with those terms as he sought to establish that he had completed the period relevant to his continued custody.

The case therefore turned on how the period should be calculated. Salem maintained that time spent in undertrial detention and remission earned during custody should be taken into account. The Bombay High Court did not accept his request for immediate release, and the Supreme Court has now left that decision in place.

Sentence linked to 1993 Mumbai serial blasts

Salem is serving a sentence connected to the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. The Supreme Court’s dismissal means that he will not be released on the basis of the plea that the 25-year limit had already expired.

The ruling does not alter the extradition condition barring the death penalty. Instead, it confirms the Bombay High Court’s position that the relevant 25-year period is still running and is scheduled to conclude in November 2030.

With the Supreme Court declining to interfere, the immediate outcome is that Salem remains in custody. The court’s decision also establishes November 2030 as the date identified by the Bombay High Court for the end of the 25-year term linked to his extradition from Portugal.