Supreme Court rejects gangster Abu Salem’s plea for release

Updated: 16-02-2026, 09.29 AM

Gangster Abu Salem, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, has received a big blow from the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has rejected the petition for the release of Abu Salem. 10 days ago, Bombay High Court had also rejected the bail plea of Abu Salem. Abu Salem had filed a petition for anticipatory release. It was argued that as per the extradition agreement with Portugal, his sentence cannot exceed 25 years and he has already served that much or more time. However, his argument did not work.

A bench of two judges of the Supreme Court refused to hear the petition. The bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta made strong remarks while rejecting the petition. “You have been sentenced under TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act). You are not in jail for doing any good to the society,” the joint bench said. The court said that on the basis of calculation of punishment and documents, only Bombay High Court should hear the case. Also asked to appeal in the High Court for interim bail or early hearing. This petition was mainly related to release or bail. However, in February the High Court had rejected Abu Salem’s petition in a separate case.

There was a shock 10 days ago

10 days ago, the Bombay High Court had rejected Abu Salem’s emergency parole petition because he could not pay the police escort charge. He had to pay Rs 17.60 lakh for police escort charges. He wanted to go to Azamgarh to be a part of the funeral and other rituals after the death of his brother. For this he could have got bail, but he failed to pay the bail amount. For this reason his bail petition was also rejected.

Abu Salem was extradited from Portugal in 2005

Abu Salem was extradited from Portugal in 2005 and is serving a life sentence for his involvement in the Mumbai blasts. There were more than 250 deaths in this blast. This decision is a big blow for him and he will still remain in jail.