The Hindu : Salem deportation: CBI studying legal aspects

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 10, 2002

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National

Salem deportation: CBI studying legal aspects

By Vinay Kumar

NEW DELHI OCT. 9. India's efforts to seek custody of the underworld don and the prime accused in the 1993 Bombay serial blasts case, Abu Salem, from Portugal, will depend largely upon exploring the compatibility between the legal provisions in the rule books of the two countries.

And it is this compatibility in Indian and Portuguese law, which the CBI is focussing on. One such area is criminal profile and identity of Abu Salem, which the agency says has been established "beyond doubt''. Another area is a provision under Section 34(C) of the Extradition Act of India, which empowers the Government to make certain concessions to secure the custody of a fugitive.

This would mean that the Government was entitled to assure Lisbon that it could lighten the sentence from capital punishment to life imprisonment, provided Salem was handed over.

As per Portuguese law, the country could refuse deportation or extradition of a fugitive, if he faced death sentence in the country seeking his extradition.

These "common grounds'' were well understood by the three-member team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), that returned from Lisbon. It might take months before the CBI can lay its hands on Abu Salem and his wife. The two were arrested in Lisbon on September 18, for alleged violation of immigration laws and possessing forged travel documents. They have been lodged in separate jails in Lisbon for three months. Their detention could be extended by another three months.

"It cannot be anybody's unilateral decision in Portugal to hand over Abu Salem to us. There is an independent judiciary in Portugal and certain legal procedures have to be followed to bring him back. Our team has understood the Portuguese law and its requirements, which have to be fulfilled to make the formal request for his extradition,'' the CBI Director, P.C. Sharma, said at a press conference here today.

Mr. Sharma pointed out that for both, extradition and expulsion, a judicial process had to be adhered to. Shortly, India would make a formal extradition request through diplomatic channels to the Portuguese authorities.

The Lisbon authorities were "fully convinced'' of Salem's identity, and the case against him and his wife, Monica Bedi had to be brought to a logical conclusion. If convicted, Salem could get a maximum prison term of five years. "But it does not mean that we cannot make our extradition request. The process can go on simultaneously. The police and justice departments in Lisbon have extended exceptional cooperation to us,'' he said.

Responding to a query if the CBI had also received cooperation from the U.S. investigating agency, the FBI, Mr. Sharma said "exchange of information'' with the FBI had been "very good''.

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