New Delhi, Sep 10: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the plea filed by 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Abu Salem challenging his continued incarceration and seeking release on the ground that he had completed the maximum 25-year sentence after taking into account his undertrial detention and jail-earned remission.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed the petition after hearing the matter, which had been reserved for judgment on July 27.

Salem had claimed that his undertrial detention, post-conviction incarceration and jail-earned remission should be taken into account while computing the 25-year sentence, entitling him to release in view of the extradition assurance given by India to Portugal.

Abu Salem, currently lodged in Nashik Road Central Prison, had approached the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court’s refusal to direct his immediate release.

The Bombay High Court, in its judgment pronounced on April 15, dismissed Salem’s plea, holding that the 25-year period fixed by the Supreme Court could not be reduced by ordinary prison remissions.

The High Court had held that the 25-year term constituted the substantive sentence that Salem was required to undergo and was “not a ceiling capable of reduction by application of ordinary prison remissions”.

A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Kamal Khata further held that Salem’s attempt to include “earned remissions” to shorten the 25-year period was “legally unsustainable”.

Salem was extradited from Portugal and brought to India in November 2005. He was arrested and produced before the TADA Court on November 11, 2005, in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. He was convicted in TADA Case No. 1 of 2006 in February 2015 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was subsequently convicted in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case in September 2017 and sentenced to life imprisonment, with both sentences ordered to run concurrently.

The Supreme Court, while upholding his convictions in July 2022, commuted the life sentences to a total sentence of 25 years in view of the solemn sovereign assurance given by the Government of India to Portugal that Salem would not be subjected to imprisonment beyond 25 years.

The apex court had also directed the government to consider remission under Sections 432 and 433 of the CrPC one month prior to completion of the 25-year period.

Before the Bombay High Court, Salem claimed that he had earned nearly three years of remission for good conduct and that, after accounting for his undertrial detention and post-conviction incarceration, he had completed the 25-year period. However, the High Court held that remission earned under prison rules is administrative in nature and “does not ipso facto reduce the sentence imposed by a Court.”

It further observed that the 25-year period would expire in November 2030, reckoning it from his arrest on November 11, 2005. “There is no question the sovereign assurance of 25 years being further reduced on account of remissions earned,” the Bombay High Court said.

It also held that any exercise of statutory remission or reduction below the 25-year period could be considered only in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions, adding that the executive’s duty to pass formal remission orders arises one month before completion of the said period.

Earlier, Salem approached the Supreme Court seeking premature release in terms of the extradition arrangement between India and Portugal.

In February, the top court had allowed him to withdraw that plea with liberty to seek an early hearing of the pending matter before the Bombay High Court.

Salem was extradited from Portugal to India in November 2005 and was subsequently convicted in two cases arising out of the 1993 Mumbai blasts. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in both cases, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently. In July 2022, the Supreme Court, while upholding his convictions, restricted his imprisonment to 25 years in view of the sovereign assurance given to Portugal.

Jammu, Sep 10: Officials of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said on Thursday that the drug trafficking accused, who had escaped from custody in J&K’s Jammu city on September 7, has been re-arrested.

The officials said the NCB, in coordination with the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Punjab Police, has re-arrested the drug trafficking accused, who had fled from custody in Jammu.

The accused had fled from Jammu and travelled towards Jalandhar via the Pathankot route, the officials said. He allegedly took shelter in a forested area near Narwal Fruit Mandi before altering his appearance by shaving his beard and changing his clothes.

The official said that following a three-day search and tracking operation across Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, a joint team of NCB Jammu, NCB Amritsar, NCB Chandigarh and Punjab Police traced and apprehended him in Jalandhar.

The accused was identified as Aqib Bashir.

“The accused was preparing to move towards Delhi or another state when he was apprehended.

“The accused used his contacts in Jalandhar to seek shelter and evade the search teams. Intelligence inputs and field efforts helped the agencies track his location. Aqib Bashir was arrested when he was preparing to move towards Delhi or another state.

“His initial arrest was part of a month-long operation by the NCB in the Jammu division, which exposed two distinct routes used by narcotic smugglers to push heroin into the union territory from Pakistan through the Uri sector and indirectly via Punjab.

“The NCB had earlier arrested him with 522 grams of heroin from a passenger bus in Samba district on September 3,” the officials said.

Further investigation is underway to ascertain the circumstances of his escape and identify those who allegedly provided him shelter and facilitated his movement.

Intelligence agencies believe that the major portion of narcotics smuggled into the country from Pakistan is used to sustain terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir

New Delhi, Sep 9: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved five multitracking railway projects with an investment of Rs 10,021 crore.

The five projects, covering 17 districts across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana, will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 540 km. The multi-tracking projects will enhance connectivity to approximately 2,121 villages, with a total population of about 52 lakh.

These projects include the Arakkonam–Renigunta 3rd and 4th Line over a stretch of 77 km, Whitefield–Bangarapet 3rd and 4th Line, 47 kms, Hosur-Omalur Doubling, over 147 km, Salem–Karur–Dindigul Doubling, amounting to 159 km, and Secunderabad (Ghatkesar)–Kazipet, extending to 110 km, according to an official statement.

The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking projects are poised to alleviate congestion and are scheduled to be completed by 2029-30.

The projects are planned under the PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan with a focus on enhancing multi-modal connectivity and logistics efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultations. These projects will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods, and services.

The approved capacity enhancement will improve rail connectivity to several prominent tourist destinations across the country, including Tirupati, Subramaniya Swamy Temple (Tiruttani), Sri Padmavati Ammavaari Temple (Tiruchanur), Kotilingeshwara Devaalaya, Sri Seethi Byraveshwara Swamy Temple, Bangaru Tirupati, Kolar Gold Fields, Hogennakkal Falls, Hosur Fort, Mettur Dam, Kodaikanal Hills, Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary, Namakkal Anjaneyar Temple, Namakkal Fort, Kalyana Pasupatheswar Temple, Yadagirigutta Temple, Bhongir Fort, Surendrapuri, and Swarnagiri Temple.

These projects are also essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, cement, iron and steel, containers, automobiles, food grains, petroleum products, fertilisers, etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 47 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum). The Railways, being an environment-friendly and energy-efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimising logistics costs of the country, reduce oil imports by around 8 crore litres and lower CO2 emissions by 42 crore kg, which is equivalent to the plantation of around 2 crore trees, the statement added.