sc-reserves-order-on-abu-salem-s-plea-for-premature-release

The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on a plea filed by 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Abu Salem seeking premature release from his life sentence on the ground that he has completed 25 years in prison.

 

Appearing for Salem, a senior counsel argued that the prison authorities had failed to give him the benefit of the period he spent in custody as an undertrial, despite a specific direction from the special TADA court.

 

“Despite the categorical direction by the TADA court that I have to be given complete set-off for the undertrial period, the jail authorities are not giving me that benefit,” Salem’s counsel submitted.

 

The plea is linked to the terms under which Salem was extradited from Portugal. Earlier, the Supreme Court had declined to grant him interim relief and allowed him to approach the Bombay High Court to examine his claim and calculate the period of imprisonment he had undergone in light of the conditions attached to his extradition. Salem was convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case and is serving a life sentence.

 

He has argued that, under the extradition terms, he completed 25 years of imprisonment on December 24, 2024. In his petition before the Bombay high court, Salem calculated his custody period by combining nearly 11 years and 10 months as an undertrial, nearly 10 years as a convict and more than three years of remission for good conduct. The High Court had earlier listed his plea after a special TADA court rejected his request for release.

 

Meanwhile, the CBI has told the special TADA court that Salem must pay fines imposed in two earlier convictions before the expiry of the 25-year period applicable to his incarceration.

 

The agency said Salem must deposit a total fine of Rs 16.51 lakh with the court registry before the completion of the stipulated period. According to the CBI, failure to pay the amount by October 12, 2030 would make Salem liable to serve the alternative default sentences prescribed by the court.

 

Salem, who is lodged at Nashik Road Central Prison, had approached the special TADA court seeking clarity on whether he was required to pay the fines or undergo the additional sentence prescribed in case of non-payment.

 

The CBI said the fine was not optional and that the court could direct Salem to deposit the amount in accordance with the prescribed procedure.