The Delhi High Court has granted time to extradited gangster Abu Salem to file documents in support of his Habeas Corpus petition, claiming his detention in India as illegal.
Abu Salem is serving life sentence for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani on Tuesday ordered that Salem’s Counsel should keep on record the electronic copy of the judgement relied upon by him to show that his Habeas Corpus petition is maintainable.
The Bench has listed the matter for further hearing on March 14 and also allowed Advocate S Hariharan, representing Salem, to file brief written submissions.
The High Court was hearing a plea by Salem seeking to declare his detention in India illegal and to deport him to Portugal, in view of the conventions and treaty governing the territory.
Salem’s Counsel, seeking cancellation of his custody, said that the extradition was done on various assurances, which were violated and his detention was illegal. He further contended that Salem has been indicted on additional charges that were not part of the treaty. The petition said that Salem was extradited in 2002 and has been in jail since then.
The High Court had earlier observed that a habeas corpus petition filed by Salem was not made out as his detention cannot be invalid, if convicted by a court of law. The Bench observed that once a court has put Salem on trial and convicted him, he cannot say that his custody is illegal.
On October 27, 2021, the Supreme Court had refused to grant bail bail to Salem in the murder case. On February 25, 2015, a special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) Court had sentenced Salem to life imprisonment in the 1995 murder of Mumbai-based builder Pradeep Jain and his driver Mehndi Hassan.