Bombay HC rejects Abu Salem’s parole plea to attend his brother’s rites

The Bombay High Court on Thursday rejected a plea by jailed gangster Abu Salem seeking parole after he expressed his inability to pay the police escort charges required by prison authorities reported the PTIAbu Salem is currently serving a 25year jail sentence in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts caseSalem had applied for emergency parole to travel to his native village in Uttar Pradesh following the death of his elder brother Abu Hakim Ansari in November last yearHe said he wished to attend the last rites and related mourning ritualsA division bench comprising Justices Ajay Gadkari and Shyam Chandak dismissed the plea after Salemrsquos lawyer told the court that his client could not afford the high security escort charges demanded by the authorities according to the PTIDuring an earlier hearing Salemrsquos lawyer had informed the court that he would not be able to pay more than Rs 1 lakh towards escort expensesThe court had then observed that Salem ldquocannot bargainrdquo and would have to pay the full mandatory charges if he wanted paroleBased on this submission the bench refused to grant him reliefJail authorities had earlier rejected requestIn his petition filed in December 2025 the gangster said his application was delayed due to the courtrsquos Christmas vacationHe stated that he had applied for a 14day emergency parole on November 15 shortly after his brotherrsquos death as per the PTIHowever jail authorities rejected his request on November 20Abu Salem also pointed out that since his arrest in November 2005 he has largely remained in custody and was granted short parole only after the deaths of his mother and stepmother as per the PTIConvictions in multiple serious casesAbu Salem was extradited from Portugal to India on November 11 2005 after a prolonged legal process He is a convicted accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts caseIn a separate case a special TADA court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the 1995 murder of Mumbaibased builder Pradeep JainMaharashtra govt had opposed Salems paroleEarlier Maharashtra govt has opposed the parole of gangster Abu Salem and told the Bombay High Court that he would flee if granted it reported the PTIThe state stated that granting parole to Abu Salem could lead to him absconding which may cause serious diplomatic issues between India and Portugal the country from which he was extraditedIn an affidavit filed before the court last month the state opposed Salemrsquos plea seeking 14 days of parole following the death of his elder brother The government said that at most Salem could be granted two days of emergency parole according to the PTIWhen the petition came up for hearing before a bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Shyam Chandak the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI said it was the prosecuting agency in the case and therefore should be impleaded as a respondentThe CBI had further argued that granting parole or bail to Salem could lead to serious law and order problems the news agency reportedwith PTI inputs