BREAKING | Supreme Court Dismisses Gangster Abu Salem's Plea For Premature Release In 1993 Bombay Blasts... - Live Law

**Supreme Court Rejects Abu Salem’s Plea for Premature Release**

New Delhi – The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by convicted underworld figure Abu Salem, seeking premature release after having served what he claimed was the full 25‑year term of his imprisonment for his role in the 1993 Bombay bombings. The bench, comprising Justices A. M. Khanwilkar and V. Ramasubramanian, held that Salem’s conviction under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) carried a life sentence, not a fixed term, and therefore the petitioner remained legally liable to remain in custody.

Salem’s counsel argued that the passage of 25 years—equating to the maximum term prescribed for the offence—should automatically render him eligible for release, invoking a provision of the TADA that allows for remission after a quarter‑century of confinement. The Supreme Court, however, noted that the sentencing order expressly stipulated “life imprisonment” and that the statutory framework for TADA offences does not permit automatic conversion of a life term into a fixed period. Consequently, the court ruled that Salem’s petition lacked merit and ordered the continuation of his detention at the TADA prison in Pune.

The decision underscores the judiciary’s strict interpretation of anti‑terror statutes and signals that high‑profile convicts linked to the 1993 bombings will not benefit from procedural shortcuts. Legal experts say the ruling reaffirms the principle that life sentences remain in force until formally commuted by the appropriate authority, and it may set a precedent for other inmates seeking release on similar technical grounds.