One-liner: The Supreme Court on Thursday took strong exception to an affidavit filed by the Union home secretary on a plea by gangster Abu Salem, challenging his life imprisonment in the Mumbai blasts case.
What the SC said: The top court said it is not taking the affidavit filed by Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla very kindly and does not appreciate the tenor of it.
Irked: The bench was irked by certain paragraphs where it was said that it is legally untenable for Salem to club the assurance with the merits of the case and the court should decide the appeal on merit.
Compliance: It was further annoyed with the statement made in the affidavit that compliance with the assurance given by the then deputy PM LK Advani on Dec 17, 2002, to the Portugal govt will be done.
Treaty: The top court had sought the Centre's reply on a plea filed by Salem, contending that his imprisonment can't extend beyond 25 years based on the extradition treaty between India and Portugal.
Life term: On Feb 25, 2015, the special TADA court had awarded Salem life imprisonment in another case for murdering Mumbai-based builder Pradeep Jain in 1995, along with his driver Mehndi Hassan.
Extradited: Salem, also a convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, was extradited from Portugal on Nov 11, 2005, after a prolonged legal battle.
Convicted: In June 2017, Salem was convicted and later awarded a life sentence for his role in the 1993 serial blasts case in Mumbai.
257 dead: The dastardly attacks had left 257 dead and 713 people seriously injured, and destroyed properties worth crores.
Source: PTI