Rogue Abu Salem should be released The Supreme Court on Monday said that on completion of his 25-year sentence in the Mumbai blasts case, in view of the Indian government’s commitment to Portugal during his extradition.
Salem is currently serving multiple life sentences in different cases. In 2017, the Special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court convicted six people, including Salem, which killed 257 and injured 713. Salem and Karimullah Khan were sentenced to life imprisonment, while the TADA court sentenced Tahir Merchant and Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan to death.
In another case, Salem was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2015 by a TADA court after being found guilty in the 1995 murder of builder Pradeep Jain.
Salem was convicted under various provisions of the TADA Act, the Explosives Act, 1884 and the Arms Act, 1959. However, Salem cannot be charged with the death penalty or a sentence of more than 25 years under an extradition treaty signed between India and Portugal, where he allegedly managed to escape from the US.
Here is the timeline of Abu Salem’s case:
March 12, 1993: At least 257 people were killed in the serial blasts in Mumbai. A total of 13 bomb blasts took place between 1:30 pm and 3:40 pm that day in the financial capital.
April 19, 1993: bollywood actors Sanjay Dutt Arrested for illegally possessing 9mm pistol and AK-56 rifle and ammunition. A week later, the actor confessed to possessing and destroying the weapons and was later granted bail by the Bombay High Court. The actor told the court that he had got the weapons from Abu Salem.
November 19, 1993: The case has been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for further investigation.
September 18, 2002: Abu Salem and his fellow actress Monica Bedi have been arrested in Lisbon.
Abu Salem arrives at Charbagh railway station for a court hearing in Lucknow in 2014. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastava)
17 December 2002: India gives a solemn assurance to the Portuguese government that Salem will not face the death penalty or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 25 years.
25 May 2003: This solemn assurance is reiterated by the Ambassador of India to the Government of Portugal as a supplementary assurance with another assurance that the appellant will not be tried for offenses other than those for which his extradition is sought.
November 11, 2005: After seeking extradition under the 2000 United Nations Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism and signing a treaty with the Portuguese, Salem and Bedi are extradited to India.
13 June 2006: Salem’s case has been set aside.
September 19, 2011: On a petition filed by Salem, the High Court in Lisbon passed a judgment holding that the Indian undertaking given to the Portuguese authorities was violated by making fresh charges calling for the death penalty.
Police take Abu Salem to Taloja Jail after a court sentenced him to life imprisonment in the Pradeep Jain-murder case in 2015. (Express photo by Prashant Nadkar)
January 2012: The Supreme Court of Portugal dismissed the CBI’s appeal against the High Court’s decision.
March 19, 2012: Portugal’s Constitutional Court has stayed its Supreme Court order on violations of the extradition agreement. India in its petition also referred to an order of the Supreme Court of India in which it had stayed the trial against Salem in relation to the additional charges leveled against the gangster.
June 2012: Salem is shot at Navi Mumbai’s Taloja Central Jail allegedly by gangster Devendra Jagtap alias JD, an accused in the murder case of lawyer Shahid Azmi, who represented the 26/11 Mumbai attack accused. did.
February 16, 2015: A special TADA court found Salem and two others guilty of shooting 17 times at builder Pradeep Jain outside his Juhu bungalow in March 1995.
25 February 2015: Salem has been sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 8 lakh in the Pradeep Jain murder case.
August 2015: Salem, in his statement before the TADA court, denied that he went to Sanjay Dutt’s house and gave him two AK-47 rifles and grenades before the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
June 16, 2017: Six of the seven accused, including Salem, have been convicted by the TADA court for criminal conspiracy and under the TADA Act. Salem has also been convicted under the Explosives Act, 1884 and the Arms Act, 1959. The court says that because of Salem’s ‘closeness’ with the main conspirators, Anees Ibrahim and Mustafa Dossa, he took it upon himself to transport and hide the arms and ammunition. various places. The court found Salem guilty of providing arms to Sanjay Dutt.
Portuguese Embassy officials visit the Taloja Central Jail to visit Abu Salem in 2018. (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar)
September 7, 2017: Salem sentenced to life imprisonment
26 May 2018: A Delhi court convicted Salem of demanding Rs 5 crore as security deposit in 2002 from businessman Ashok Gupta, a resident of Greater Kailash in South Delhi.
June 7, 2018: Salem has been sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment in the extortion case.
2 February 2022: The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Center on Salem’s plea that in view of the treaty between India and Portugal, he cannot be imprisoned for more than 25 years, under which he was extradited.
8 March 2022: A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice SK Kaul said it was “not satisfied” with the stand of the CBI in the matter and sought a response from the Union Home Ministry. The CBI had earlier told the court that the assurance (to Portugal) would not mean that no court in India would award punishment as provided under the prevailing laws.
April 19, 2022: The MHA tells the top court that while it is bound by the assurances given to Portugal, the question of honoring it will arise only in 2030 and that its “compliance” will be done “in due course” subject to the measures available at that time. ,
11 July 2022: The Supreme Court told the Center that it was bound to honor the promises made to Portugal and release Salem after 25 years of imprisonment. According to the Bar and Bench, the apex court also held that the period for which Salem was detained in Portugal in the passport fraud case cannot be treated as part of the period of 25 years.