Overview

• A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Rajesh S Patil admitted Salem’s plea but declined to grant any interim relief on July 7
• The court observed prima facie that his 25-year cap, fixed from his October 2005 arrest, remains unfulfilled and will conclude in 2030
• Justices directed Salem to approach the Supreme Court for definitive rulings on remission credits and aggregation of custody periods
• The Ministry of Home Affairs contended that any remission calculations are premature and become relevant only when the full 25-year term expires
• Salem was extradited from Portugal in November 2005 under assurances of no more than 25 years’ imprisonment and has overlapping life sentences for the 1993 Mumbai blasts and a 1995 murder