Bombay HC rejects jailed gangster Abu Salem's plea for parole to marry girlfriend

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday rejected jailed gangster Abu Salem's plea for a 45-day parole to get married to his Thane-based girlfriend.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice V.K. Tahilramani and Justice M.S. Sonak declined the request on the ground that under the prison rules, those convicted under terror charges were not eligible either for furlough or parole.

Currently lodged in the Taloja Jail, Raigad, Salem moved the High Court after his earlier application for parole was rejected by the Konkan Divisional Commissioner (KDC) - the competent authority in such cases - in March on security grounds.

Through his lawyer Farhana Shah, he informed the High Court on Tuesday that the KDC had refused his application "without proper application of the mind" for his previously planned marriage on May 5.

Convicted for his role in the March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, Salem had reportedly married' his girlfriend, Heena alias Kausar Bahar, a resident of Mumbra town in Thane district.

Extradited from Portugal in November 2005, he claimed to have married Heena in 2014 over the phone while en route to Lucknow for a court case though she had made certain conflicting statements later.

He contended that he wanted to properly formalize his marriage with Heena by going to the registrar's office and needed parole for this.

Originally hailing from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, Salem was convicted and sentence to life imprisonment for his role in the Mumbai serial blasts and other cases, besides being an accused in several other major cases, under trial in different parts of India.

In December 2014, he had complained to the Portugal authorities seeking cancellation of his deportation to India claiming that the extradition terms and conditions were allegedly violated.