Bombay High Court seeks government response on plea by Abu Salem for early release

The Bombay High Court recently issued notice to the Union of India in a plea filed by gangster Abu Salem seeking remission of his sentence and premature release after serving over 25 years in prison in the 1993 Bombay blast case. [Abu Salem v State of Maharashtra].Salem argued that he has already completed his sentence based on an extradition treaty between India and Portugal, which stipulates that he should not serve more than 25 years in detention. A Bench of Justice Sarang Kotwal and Justice SM Modak heard the matter on March 10 and allowed Salem to amend his petition to add the Union of India as a party to the case and also issued notice to the newly added respondent.The Court also allowed time to the State to file its response and posted the case for hearing next on March 26. .Salem moved the High Court after a special court in Mumbai on December 10, 2024 rejected his request for release. As per his plea, he has served more than 25 years by factoring in his time as an under-trial and the remissions he has earned for good behavior. He contended that he spent 11 years, 9 months and 26 days as an undertrial from 2005 to 2017 and 9 years, 10 months and 4 days as a convict in a TADA case from 2015 to 2024. .Further, he submitted that he has earned 3 years and 16 days of remission for good conduct plus one month for time spent as an undertrial in Portugal. Together, this adds up to over 25 years.Since his extradition from Portugal in 2005 came with the assurance that his detention would not exceed 25 years, he is now eligible for release, the gangster argued.According to the plea, continuing his detention beyond this period would violate the terms of his extradition and infringe on his constitutional right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution..Senior Advocate Rishi Malhotra along with advocates Farhana Shah, Shivaansh Maini, Yatish Desale, Darshana V Gunjan appeared for Salem.Public Prosecutor HS Venegavkar along with Additional Public Prosecutor MM Deshmukh appeared for the State..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.