Abu Salem won't be put behind bars for more than 25 yrs as per extradition treaty with Portugal, rules SC

New Delhi, July 11: The Supreme Court on Monday said the Centre is bound to honour its commitment given to Portugal and release gangster Abu Salem on completion of his 25-year sentence in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

Salem had said his sentence could not exceed 25 years as per the assurance given by India to Portugal for his extradition in 2002. The assurance was given to Portugal by the then Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani.

Paving way for the release of Salem, a bench of Justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh said the Central government is bound to advise the President of India for exercise of power under Article 72 of the Constitution and the national commitment on completion of his sentence.

"The necessary papers be forwarded within a month of completion of 25 years. In fact, the government can itself exercise the power of remission under CrPC within the time period of one month upon completion of 25 years," the bench said.

On February 25, 2015, a special TADA court had awarded life imprisonment to Salem in another case for murdering Mumbai-based builder Pradeep Jain in 1995 along with his driver Mehndi Hassan.

Salem, also a convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, was extradited from Portugal on November 11, 2005, after a prolonged legal battle.

The top court had on May 5 reserved its judgement in the matter in which the Centre had argued that the judiciary is independent of the solemn sovereign assurance given to the Portugal government during the extradition of Salem and it is up to the executive to take a call on it at an appropriate stage.

In June 2017, Salem was convicted and later awarded life sentence for his role in the 1993 serial blasts case in Mumbai.

On March 12, 1993, the country's commercial capital had witnessed an unprecedented attack with 12 explosions that took place one after another in about two hours. The dastardly attacks had left 257 dead and 713 people seriously injured, and destroyed properties worth crores.