India, April 15 -- The Bombay high court on Wednesday rejected gangster Abu Salem Abdul Qayoom Ansari's plea seeking his immediate release from jail, claiming that he had completed his 25-year jail term on March 31, 2025, in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings case.

A bench of justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata said Ansari was yet to complete the actual prison term of 25 years and therefore his petition was premature.

Ansari's lawyer, Farhana Shah, said the Supreme Court in 2022 upheld her client's plea that he cannot be sentenced to a term of over 25 years in view of the assurance given to Portugal, where he was extradited from. She added that the Supreme Court had ordered that he be released on completing the 25-year prison term.

Ansari...