Abu Salem, Dossa trials still underway

The wheels of justice are still turning in the 1993 serial blasts case, Mohan K Korappath reports.

The wheels of justice are still turning in the 1993 serial blasts case.

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Though the Supreme Court on Thursday delivered its final verdict in the appeal filed by 19 convicts, the trial of extradited gangsters and alleged serial blast co-conspirators Mustafa Dossa and Abu Salem is still underway. Their trial was separated following their deportation in 2003 and 2005 respectively.

While Dossa’s case is being heard in a TADA court presided over by special judge GA Sanap, with witnesses currently being cross-examined, Salem’s trial has been stalled since February 2012, when the Supreme Court granted a stay after an appeals court in Lisbon terminated the authorisation for Salem’s extradition in September 2011.

The Indian government’s appeal challenging that order is pending before the Supreme Court of Justice of Portugal, which will hear the case next month.

Salem was being tried in two cases before the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court in Mumbai. Since the stay, he has filed a bail application before this court, which is likely to be heard on March 25.

Dossa too had moved to have his case stalled, on the basis that the confessional statement that formed the basis of the charges against him was not permissible, since it was secured as part of a separate case — the main 1993 serial blasts trial.

The Bombay high court, however, rejected his application.