New Delhi, January 27: Union Government has approached the Delhi High Court for urgent disposal of the petition of Delhi Police seeking dropping of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) charges against underworld don Abu Salem who faces prosecution in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and other criminal cases.
Additional Solicitor-General Haren Raval appearing before Justice V K Shali said the Government wanted an early disposal of the petition as it had decided to appeal to the Constitutional Court of Portugal against the Portugese Supreme Court order terminating the extradition of Abu Salem to India from that country.
Earlier, Mr Raval had appeared before Justice Mukta Gupta who recused herself in the case saying she cannot hear it as she as a lawyer had appeared in a related case.
Portugal Supreme Court earlier this month had terminated the extradition of Salem on the grounds that India breached the extradition conditions by booking him under MCOCA which also provides for death sentence. Salem was extradited from Portugal in 2005 under other provisions of law. Police later booked Salem under MCOCA also, thereby violating the treaty.
After the Supreme Court of Portugal also upheld its High court’s decision last week, the Delhi police have hurriedly approached the Delhi High Court to drop MCOCA charges against the underworld don who is in jail since 2005.
Salem was booked under MCOCA by the Delhi Police for allegedly making extortion calls to a Delhi-based businessman, Ashok Gupta, in 2002.
This was done despite the fact that the conditions under which Salem was extradited from Portugal to India stated that he could not be awarded the death penalty, sentenced to more than 25 years in jail or tried under any special law of the land.
Abu Salem has also filed a petition in trial court challenging dismissal of an application by the city police seeking dropping of the MCOCA charges against him by the trial court.
Soon after Salem approached the Lisbon Court the Union Government directed the Delhi Police to approach the trial court for dropping of charges against the fugitive don.
The police approached the trial court but its petition was dismissed in 2009 saying that it was not in public interest. The police had sought dropping of the MCOCA charge against the accused arguing that according to the conditions for his extradition from Portugal, he could be awarded the maximum punishment of 25 years of imprisonment by Indian courts while under MCOCA he could be awarded a death sentence.
–Agencies