On February 16, 2026, the Supreme Court allowed gangster Abu Salem to withdraw his appeal for remission. Salem has spent 25 years behind bars in India. He was convicted for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. Salem was extradited from Portugal on November 11, 2005, after a long legal fight. He had argued his sentence could not be more than 25 years based on India's promise to Portugal during extradition. A Bench led by Justice Vikram Nath disposed of Salem’s appeal but said he could ask the Bombay High Court to list his pending case quickly. Salem’s plea challenged a July 2025 Bombay High Court order which said he had not yet completed 25 years in jail. Earlier, the Supreme Court had asked Salem’s lawyers to check Maharashtra Prison Rules on remission rights under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act. In July 2022, the top court had ruled that once Salem finished 25 years, the Central Government must advise the President to grant remission, following India’s promises to Portugal. However, the court did not count the time Salem spent detained in Portugal from 2002, saying Indian law cannot apply outside its borders. Salem’s case rested on a “solemn sovereign assurance” given by then Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani that Salem would not get a death sentence or serve more than 25 years. But the Central Bureau of Investigation called it no guarantee. The Home Ministry in 2022 asked the court to focus on Salem’s conviction and sentence in the Mumbai blasts case, not on any extradition assurances. In 2015, Salem was also sentenced to life for a 1995 murder case of Mumbai builder Pradeep Jain.