The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its judgment in a plea by gangster Abu Salem that India reneged on a “solemn assurance” given to Portugal at the time of his extradition that he will not be sentenced to death or imprisonment for over 25 years in any case.
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M.M. Sundresh heard both the government and Salem’s lawyer, advocate Rishi Malhotra, for almost the entire day.
Earlier, the court had conveyed its displeasure at the government not taking an unequivocal stand regarding the assurance given to Portugal at the time of Salem’s extradition. The Bench had also expressed dissatisfaction 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 and not take into consideration any “assurance” given by India to Portugal.
