SC notice to Maha, CBI on Abu Salem petition

New Delhi, Sep 18: The Supreme Court today issued notices to the State of Maharashtra and CBI on a petition filed by don Abu Salem challenging the sepration of trial from other accused in 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case in which 257 people died and hundreds were injured.

A bench comprising Justices K G Balakrishnan and D K Jain issued the notices after hearing the counsel for the petitioner, who contended that the Government of India was violating the undertaking it had given to the Government of Portugal at the time of his extradition from that country on November 11, 2005.

According to the petitioner, the Indian Government had undertaken not to try the petitioner for offences punishable with life imprisonment or death sentence.

Abu Salem in his petition has also said that he was not to be sentenced for more than 25 years, if convicted for the offences mentioned in the application filed by CBI.

It may be noted here that there are 123 accused in the case, in which there are several thousand prosecution witnesses and the Special Judge Mumbai is delivering his judgement in parts.

The members of Memon family have already been found guilty by the trial court. Other accused include film star Sanjay Dutt, mafia don Dawood Ibrahim and others.

1993 Mumbai bomb blasts is considered to be the biggest trial in the world. The trial began in 1994 and has already taken 12 years to complete. TADA court announced its first verdict in the case on Sepetmber 12, 2006.

According to the petitioner, if his trial is separated then the statements of confession made by the accused and statements of approver recorded by the trial court would not be available in his defence. A close scrutiny of the said evidence would clearly exonerate the appellant form the charges for which the appellant has been extradited from Portugal, it was contended.

UNI

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