The government cannot “hum and haw” over its solemn assurance to Portugal that gangster Abu Salem will not be sentenced to a prison term over 25 years or face death penalty, the Supreme Court told the Centre on Thursday. The government has to take an “unequivocal stand” now on whether it would abide by the assurance given to Portugal or not, the court said.
A Bench led by Justice S.K. Kaul expressed its displeasure over certain portions of an affidavit filed by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, which said the court should focus on deciding Salem’s appeal against his conviction and life sentence in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case on its merits rather than take into consideration any “assurance” given by India to Portugal.
Mr. Bhalla had told the court that it was “premature” now to discuss the assurance given in 2002, and the “appropriate time” to do so would be in 2030 when the end of the 25-year period comes up. The Home Secretary had told the court that the question of complying with the assurance would be examined when it arises in 2030 subject to “remedies available”.
