SC faults Abu Salem's maths, junks release plea

The Supreme Court dismissed gangster Abu Salem's plea for release, stating that if a person is convicted in two cases and sentenced separately, undertrial jail time can only be offset against one of the sentences. The court ruled that even though the trial court had ordered the sentences to run concurrently, the same period of incarceration cannot be counted twice for the purpose of determining completion of the sentence.

The court dismissed Salem's claim that he has already spent 25 years in jail, as the sentences granted in both cases are life sentences. The court also dismissed the sovereignty commitment given to Portugal stating that the Union government's assurance to Portugal cannot convert life imprisonment into a fixed-term sentence of 25 years.