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Abu Salem does not want to go to court
Abu Salem pleaded for a direction by TADA court to jail authorities not to produce him in any court till the conclusion of the proceedings in Lisbon.
He also argued that the trial against him in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case cannot go on after the Portuguese court order. His lawyer Sabha Qureshi submitted the order passed by the Portuguese High Court which terminated his extradition, saying there was breach of agreement by India for slapping offences which attract death penalty. Capital punishment has been abolished in Portugal.
While submitting the copy of the order, Qureshi insisted that the Superintendent of Taloja jail be directed not to produce Salem in any court till conclusion of proceedings in Lisbon.
TADA court judge GA Sanap asked the CBI to file its
response to the gangster`s application on October 11.
The court, however, dismissed an application filed by
Salem in which he had claimed there was a threat to his life
from CBI and Maharashtra Police, saying his apprehension was
"ill-founded".
"Unless some material is produced that CBI or police has
made any attempt or made a plan, the application cannot be
accepted," it remarked while disposing of the application.
In his application to the court on September 22 (before
the termination of extradition), Salem had said that CBI or
the Maharashtra Police could implicate him in false cases or
try to eliminate him in fake encounter while being produced
before the trial courts as his petition was being heard by the
Portuguese court "in order to sabotage my efforts to seek
justice and uphold my human rights".
Salem further said that the CBI might level false
allegation of trying to flee from custody while being produced
in the court and register fresh case against him so as to
hinder his chance of getting a favourable order from the court
of appeal in Lisbon.
The judge directed the jail authorities and the police to
ensure that proper security is provided to Salem.
Salem, a key accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts
along with fugitive ganglord Dawood Ibrahim, and his
girlfriend Monica Bedi, were extradited to India on November
11, 2005, after a tortuous legal process in Portugal lasting
three years. Salem is to face trial in nine cases.
PTI