1993 Bombay Blasts Case: Supreme Court Dismisses Gangster Abu Salem's Plea For Premature Release

Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed gangster Abu Salem's plea seeking premature release in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. Salem sought to include his undertrial custody and remission earned for good conduct while calculating the 25-year imprisonment cap linked to India's extradition assurances to Portugal. Bombay HC had earlier ruled that the 25-year period would end in November 2030.

1993 Bombay Blasts Case: Supreme Court Dismisses Gangster Abu Salem's Plea For Premature Release | Canva

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed gangster Abu Salem’s plea seeking premature release from prison in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta pronounced the verdict after hearing Salem’s arguments challenging the Bombay High Court’s decision to reject his plea.

Salem had sought to count the remission he earned for good conduct, as well as the period he spent in custody as an undertrial, towards the 25-year imprisonment cap linked to the extradition assurances given by India to Portugal.

Salem Argues For Remission

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Appearing for Salem, Senior Advocate Rishi Malhotra had argued that the period spent as an undertrial should be set off against his sentence, as directed by the TADA court. He had also contended that earned remission for good conduct should be included while calculating the period of imprisonment.

Malhotra submitted that Salem had earned around three years and two months of remission for good conduct and argued that such remission was distinct from statutory remission under Section 432 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

India's Assurances To Portugal

The plea stems from India's assurances to Portugal in 2002 during Salem's extradition proceedings. India had assured Portugal that Salem would neither be sentenced to death nor imprisoned for more than 25 years.

In April 2025, the Bombay High Court rejected Salem's plea for premature release, holding that the 25-year period would expire only in November 2030. The High Court ruled that earned remission could not be used to further reduce the 25-year period arising from the extradition arrangement.

The High Court noted that Salem was first arrested on November 11, 2005, and held that a simple calculation from that date showed that the 25-year period would conclude in November 2030.

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Salem Cites Undertrial Period

Salem had claimed that he spent around 11 years, nine months and 26 days as an undertrial between November 2005 and September 2017, followed by another nine years, 10 months and four days as a convict. He further relied on remission earned for good conduct and a relaxation granted for the period spent as an undertrial prisoner in Portugal.

He had argued that these periods together brought his incarceration close to the 25-year threshold and that continued imprisonment violated his fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.

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