India, May 9 -- The central and Maharashtra governments have opposed gangster Abu Salem's plea for release from prison on the grounds that he completed his 25-year jail term in March. In separate affidavits, the Centre and the state told the court that Salem had served only 19 years and five months in jail as of March 31 and, therefore, should not be released.

Salem was sentenced to life imprisonment by a local court in September 2017 for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. Following an appeal, the Supreme Court commuted the sentence to 25 years, allegedly including the undertrial period and remissions he had earned. In his petition, the gangster claimed he had already served the 25-year term if the remission period for good behav...