In Brief
Abu Salem Abdul Kayyum Ansari was extradited from Portugal to India in 2005 on charges related to the 1993 Bombay Bomb Blasts and other terrorist activities. India had given Portugal a solemn sovereign assurance that he would not receive the death penalty or imprisonment exceeding 25 years. The Supreme Court held that while Indian courts must impose sentences according to law independently of such assurances, the Government is constitutionally and internationally bound to commute any sentence exceeding 25 years by advising the President or exercising statutory commutation powers, to be done within one month of the 25-year mark. The Court also rejected his claim for credit for detention in Portugal, ruling that set-off applies only from his handover to Indian authorities (12.10.2005)."
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