Abu Salem to be released after completion of 25-year jail term

The Supreme Court on Monday said the Union government will have to release gangster Abu Salem from jail following the completion of his 25-year term in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case as it has given a commitment to Portugal that it was bound to honour.A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices SK Kaul and MM Sundresh stated that while gangster Abu Salem cannot be released from jail till 2030, but after the completion of his 25 years detention period, the Central government can advise the President regarding the extradition treaty between India and Portugal.The bench said that the Centre is bound to advise the President of India for the exercise of power under Article 72 of the Constitution and the national commitment on completion of his sentence, news agency PTI reported.

"The necessary papers be forwarded within a month of completion of 25 years. In fact, the government can itself exercise the power of remission under CrPC within the time period of one month upon completion of 25 years," the bench said.The SC, meanwhile, dismissed Salem’s plea seeking cancellation of his extradition.Salem had argued that his jail term cannot exceed 25 years as the Indian government had given a solemn assurance to Portugal to facilitate his extradition in 2002.It may be recalled that on February 25, 2015, Salem was convicted and awarded a life term by a special TADA court in another case of Mumbai-based builder Pradeep Jain’s murder in 1995 along with his driver Mehndi Hassan.Salem is a convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. Portugal extradited the gangster to India on November 11, 2005, following a prolonged legal battle.