New Delhi. The Center told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that gangster Abu Salem is a convict in the Mumbai serial blasts and cannot lay down his terms before the court and the government.
Earlier during the day, advocate Rishi Malhotra, representing Abu Salem, submitted that the Home Secretary does not have time to file an affidavit on behalf of the government in the matter.
A bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice MM Sundresh asked the public prosecutor present in the court room to check whether the Home Secretary would give an oral statement.
The matter came up for hearing again in the afternoon. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, objected to the submissions of Salem’s counsel, saying, “Lordship please ask him not to make such a request. He (Salem) is a convict in the Mumbai serial blasts case. The government cannot lay down the conditions for it.”
Justice Kaul said that the court is not on this individual matter, but on its impact. “It may obstruct other processes,” the bench said.
Mehta then said, “Lordship please do not make such remarks. It should not become a cause of concern to you in other matters. Press (media) will make news on this.” To this the bench replied, “Let them make news, we don’t care.”
The Union Home Secretary failed to file an affidavit before the Supreme Court asking whether India would honor the commitment made by its deputy prime minister to Portugal to limit Abu Salem’s prison term to 25 years.
After hearing the arguments, the top court granted more time to the Center to file its reply in the matter and fixed it for further hearing on April 21.
On March 8, the Supreme Court had asked the Union Home Secretary to file an affidavit asking whether the Center would respond to the then Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Of. Advani had asked the Portuguese authorities not to keep gangster Abu Salem in jail for more than 25 years while seeking his extradition.
The top court asked the Center to clarify its stand on the issue. It emphasized that non-compliance with assurances given to the Portuguese authorities could have cascading ramifications and create problems while seeking extradition of fugitives from other countries. The top court said it was not happy with the response of the CBI in the matter. It has sought a reply from the Home Secretary in three weeks.
The CBI, in its affidavit, told the apex court that an Indian court was not bound by the assurance given by the then deputy prime minister in 2002 to the courts of Portugal that gangster Abu Salem would not be imprisoned for more than 25 years after his extradition.
Malhotra, representing Salem, argued before the bench that as per the principle of reciprocity in Portugal, courts cannot impose a sentence of more than 25 years. He said that based on the principle of reciprocity, the Indian government had given the courts of Portugal a solemn sovereign assurance that if Salem is allowed to be extradited back to India, he would be sentenced to a sentence of not more than 25 years.
—AnyTV News
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