New Delhi: Notorious gangster Abu Salem, the prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, has suffered a major setback in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has dismissed his plea seeking immediate release, as he has already completed 25 years in prison. The Supreme Court, which upheld the Bombay High Court verdict, said, “Salem’s petition is premature and his 25-year sentence will be completed only in 2030.”
The bench that dismissed the petition: A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta upheld the Bombay High Court order in its entirety. The court rejected the argument that Salem’s time in jail and exemption from sentence totalled 25 years.
Confusion over calculation of 25 years: According to Abu Salem, he had argued that he had completed 25 years from the date of his arrest in Portugal. However, according to Indian courts, the days of sentence are officially counted from the date of his extradition to India in 2005, and this deadline will expire in November 2030.
Protection of extradition conditions: Salem was arrested in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, in 2002. The According to the extradition treaty, the Indian government has agreed to a condition that he cannot be sentenced to death or imprisoned for more than 25 years. But the court said that those 25 years have not yet been completed.
Pradeep Jain murder and Mumbai blasts: Abu Salem is serving a life sentence for supplying weapons in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts that killed 257 people and for the 1995 murder of Mumbai builder Pradeep Jain.
Bollywood actress Monica Bedi connection: Abu Salem used to extort crores of rupees from Bollywood during his gangster days. Both were arrested in a fake passport case while he was absconding to Portugal with actress Monica Bedi.
Central government’s commitment: Earlier, the Union Home Ministry had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, saying, “As per the promise made to the Portuguese government, Abu Salem will complete 25 years after completing his It was made clear that he would be recommended to the President for release (in 2030), but until then, his release would not be possible for any reason.