Supreme Court reserves judgment in Abu Salem's plea against imprisonment beyond 25 years

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its judgment in a plea filed by 1993 Bombay blasts convict Abu Salem claiming that his imprisonment cannot extend beyond 25 years as per the terms of the extradition treaty between India and Portugal [Abu Salem v. State of Maharashtra]..The Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh reserved its verdict on the plea in which Salem claimed that the 2017 judgment of a Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) Court sentencing him to life imprisonment was against the terms of the extradition treaty between India and Portugal."The court of appeal in Lisbon [that is High Court of Portugal] took note of the solemn assurance given by the Indian Government that Abu Salem to be extradited but only on the charges/offences which are mentioned, nothing else... and he cannot be punished with death penalty or imprisonment which exceeds 25 years", advocate Rishi Malhotra submitted on behalf of Salem..Over the course of the hearing, the top court questioned why the plea was raised two months before the completion of 25 years."So only when 2 months are left in completion of 25 years, then you should approach the court and it must be heard and orders passed before completion of 25 years," Justice Kaul orally observed.However, Malhotra argued that the period of imprisonment must be considered from the date of detention in Portugal after the issuance of Red Corner Notice (non-bailable warrants) and not from the date of completion of extradition by India. .On December 17, 2002, that Government of India gave an assurance to the Government of Portugal that if Salem is extradited for trials in India, he would neither be given the death penalty nor would he be subjected to imprisonment for a term beyond 25 years, Salem's plea stated. "Error committed by the TADA Court was with regard to the issue of ‘Set Off’. According to the appellant though he was in custody for some offences of passport violation in Portugal since September 18, 2002 and was undergoing a sentence of 4½ years, yet, the Appellant was detained also on September 18, 2002 in pursuance to the Red Corner Notice issued by the Designated Courts, Mumbai," the plea said.It was argued that regardless of the fact that the TADA Court had held that it was not bound by the assurances of the government, the top court indeed has the power to rule on the same and grant relief..The plea was opposed by Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj who submitted that the period undergone as undertrial in Portugal cannot be considered for computation of 25 years of imprisonment as Abu Salem was previously arrested and detained in Portugal for a case related to passport fraud. "Our starting point [of computation of 25 years of imprisonment] should be from when the accused/convict was taken into the custody after the extradition," the ASG submitted..After a long-drawn extradition battle with Portugal, Salem was brought to India in 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the 1993 blasts that rocked Mumbai.Last year, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a plea filed by the gangster claiming that his extradition to India was illegal..[Read Live Reportage of Final Arguments here]

Supreme Court reserves judgment in Abu Salem's plea against imprisonment beyond 25 years

Chaitanya Singh

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