The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Abu Salem seeking emergency parole to visit his native place in Uttar Pradesh following the death of his brother. The court rejected the plea after Salem expressed his inability to bear the police escort charges required for his transit.
A division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Shyam Chandak ruled against the plea, noting that Salem could not “bargain” on the mandatory expenses to be incurred for providing high-level security during his travel.
Salem, currently serving a 25-year sentence, had sought a 14-day emergency parole to attend the last rites and associated rituals for his elder brother, Abu Hakim Ansari, who passed away in November 2025. His plea was initially rejected by jail authorities on November 20. The High Court heard Salem’s parole application, which was filed in December after delays caused by the court’s Christmas vacation.
During an earlier hearing, Salem’s lawyer submitted that the jailed gangster was not in a position to pay more than ₹1 lakh towards the police escort expenses. However, the court had orally observed that if Salem wished to avail parole, he would have to pay the full charges prescribed by the state and not negotiate the amount.
Salem’s plea highlighted that since his arrest in November 2005, he had been granted parole only twice previously—after the death of his mother and subsequently after his stepmother’s demise.
The 1993 blasts convict was extradited from Portugal in 2005 following a prolonged legal process. In addition to his sentence in the blasts case, Salem is also serving a life term awarded by a special TADA court for the 1995 murder of Mumbai-based builder Pradeep Jain.
