The Supreme Court ruled that after serving his 25-year term, Abu Salem must be released by the government. The court agreed that the government couldn’t put off doing what it said it would do under the Extradition Act because that would go against international obligations.
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the Center was required to uphold the solemn promise it made to a Portuguese court in 2002 not to impose a prison term on the mobster Abu Salem that would exceed 25 years.
A bench of justices led by Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh said, “We conclude that after 25 years, the Center will have to tell the President to release him in line with India’s promise and the principle of comity among nations.” This cleared the way for Abu Salem’s release.
Salem was returned from Portugal to India in November 2005 so that he might stand prosecution for the 1995 murder of businessman Pradeep Jain as well as the 1993 bombings in Mumbai. Since the lower courts had already given him a life sentence in the first two cases, Salem went to the highest court to ask that the promise be kept.
The bench agreed that the extradition act’s international responsibilities must be upheld and that the government cannot delay considering whether to do so after 25 years had passed.
The panel ruled that once Salem has served a total of 25 years in prison, the Centre is allowed to use its authority of remission under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in addition to making recommendations to the President.
The panel, however, rejected Salem’s attorney, Rishi Malhotra’s, argument that Salem’s time in a Portuguese prison should be included as time served while serving a 25-year prison sentence.
According to the bench, this term of incarceration (starting in September 2002) was due to a different passport-related offense.
It was made clear that the 25 years would start on October 12, 2005, when Salem was arrested in Portugal after Interpol issued a red-cornered alert at the request of the Indian prosecuting agency.
The court also didn’t agree with Malhotra’s claim that the court itself should grant clemency because the Supreme Court said AG Perarivalan should serve a life sentence for killing Rajiv Gandhi.
The bench decided that because different places have different rules for commuting sentences, it was not up to the court to change a prisoner’s sentence.
In May of this year, the Supreme Court reserved the case. The Centre told the top court that India had to keep its promise to the Portuguese court in December 2002, but it also hinted that the issue of his release would come up in November 2030, when his 25-year sentence would be over.
According to the affidavit, this time frame started on November 11, 2005, the day he was extradited from Portugal to stand trial for the numerous charges brought against him.
The Centre went on to say that this choice was best left up to the executive under Article 72 (the President’s pardoning power) or Article 161 (the Governor’s pardoning power) at the appropriate time and that a sovereign assurance given by one nation to another cannot be interpreted as a judicial exercise of power.
A special TADA court sentenced Salem to life in prison in February 2015 for the 1995 murder of Mumbai-based builder Pradeep Jain and his driver, Mehndi Hassan. Salem was a member of the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s gang. Abu Salem
The TADA court dismissed Abu Salem’s claim that the extradition provision prevents sentences of more than 25 years in prison.
Salem was later found guilty once more and given a life sentence for his part in the 1993 Mumbai bombing case in June 2017.
He was blamed for sending weapons from Gujarat to Mumbai, where they were used in attacks that killed 257 people and seriously injured more than 700 others.
