The Supreme Court today refused to vacate its stay on TADA proceedings against alleged gangster Abu Salem in view of the pendency of New Delhi’s plea with the Portuguese Constitution Court against quashing of his extradition to India.
A bench headed by Justice P Sathasivam, which had stayed the proceedings in two cases including that in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, asked the CBI to file affidavit giving details regarding the proceeding in the Portugal court.
Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanium, appearing for the CBI, submitted that the Constitutional Court of Portugal has stayed the order of its high court which had quashed the extradition treaty with India.
The bench asked the agency to file its affidavit within four weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on April 23.
Salem approached the apex court against the TADA court’s order of January 31, rejecting his plea for closure of his
trial. He had filed the application after the Portugal Supreme Court upheld the order of a lower court there, terminating his extradition for “violation” of deportation rules by Indian authorities.
At the time of Salem’s extradition, India had assured Portugal that no charges entailing death penalty or
imprisonment of more than 25 years would be pressed against him, but such charges were later brought in.
———————-PTI