New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) A Delhi court Tuesday granted bail to extradited gangster Abu Salem in a 2002 extortion case. He would remain in judicial custody as he is facing trial in other cases.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yadav granted bail to Salem on a personal bond of Rs.1 lakh with a surety of same amount. He is currently lodged in Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai.
"This is a matter of record that the conduct of the accused in judicial custody has remained above board and no complaint of any sort has been reported with regard to his conduct in jail by any authority," the court said.
Magistrate Yadav allowed Salem's application on the ground that other three accused involved in the case had already been released on bail.
"Considering the fact that accused has undergone more than half of the sentence, which could be imposed upon him in this matter, the public witnesses have already been examined, I deem a fit case for releasing this accused on bail," said the court.
The court observed that Salem had undergone judicial custody of five years in this case and 13 witnesses had been examined.
Salem's counsel M.S. Khan told the court that he should be granted bail as he had already spent over five years in jail even as the law provided for a maximum punishment of seven years for extortion.
The court was hearing a 2002 extortion case lodged by Puneet Khanna, a Delhi-based businessman of oil products.
Salem was arrested in this case July 22, 2007.
He was extradited from Portugal Nov 11, 2005, for his alleged involvement in eight cases, including this case. He has been granted bail in one more case.
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