The Supreme Court on Monday sought clarity from gangster Abu Salem on how he arrived at the claim of completing his 25-year sentence in India, questioning the inclusion of remission while calculating his jail term since his extradition from Portugal in 2005.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta raised doubts over Salem’s claim and asked his counsel to file relevant prison rules that could justify the remission. “First of all, how do you calculate 25 years from 2005?” the bench asked during the hearing of Salem’s plea challenging a 2023 Bombay High Court order that found the 25-year sentence period was yet to be completed.
Abu Salem, a convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, was extradited to India from Portugal on November 11, 2005, after a prolonged legal battle. At the time of extradition, India had given a sovereign assurance to Portugal that Salem would neither be sentenced to death nor imprisoned for more than 25 years.
In February 2015, Salem was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special TADA court in a separate case for the 1995 murder of Mumbai builder Pradeep Jain.
During Monday’s hearing, Salem’s counsel argued that the 25-year limit had been reached if remission for good conduct was factored in. The bench, however, questioned whether such remission could be considered, especially when the conviction is under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA).
“So you calculate 25 years including your remission?” the bench asked. It also pointed out that prison rules specific to Maharashtra would have to be examined to determine whether remission was applicable in cases under TADA.
The counsel for Salem assured the court that the relevant rules would be placed on record. The bench granted two weeks to file the prison rule documents and posted the matter for further hearing on February 9.
In a significant ruling in July 2022, the Supreme Court had observed that the Union Government was bound to uphold the sovereign assurance given to Portugal. The Court had then held that Salem must be released upon completion of the 25-year term in connection with the 1993 blasts case.
However, Monday’s hearing focused on the precise calculation of this 25-year period and whether remission could legitimately be counted toward it.
In the case under challenge, Salem had approached the Bombay High Court seeking release, contending that he had completed the 25-year term including remission. While the high court admitted his plea, it refused to grant any interim relief, holding that, prima facie, the sentence had not yet run its full course.
