Supreme Court Rejects Abu Salem's Plea for Early Release
· India · Times of India, Indian Express
The Supreme Court has dismissed gangster Abu Salem's appeal for release, ruling that undertrial incarceration cannot be counted twice toward concurrent sentences. Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta determined that Salem, who was extradited from Portugal in 2005, cannot claim a double benefit by treating the same period of custody as both pre-conviction and post-conviction time. The court clarified that the government's 2005 assurance to Portugal regarding a 25-year maximum sentence does not override judicial sentencing in two separate terror cases. Official records indicate that Salem, who received life sentences in 2015 and 2017, is currently projected to remain in custody until January 31, 2046. The bench emphasised that sentencing calculations fall under judicial domain, while remission powers remain with the executive.
Why it matters
The ruling establishes a clear legal precedent that undertrial periods cannot be notionally counted twice for concurrent sentences, impacting how long-term prisoners calculate their release dates.
Read the original report — Times of India
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