ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARIversusTHE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

                        [2022] 12 S.C.R. 169                            169


            ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI                               A
                                 v.
                THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
                 (Criminal Appeal No. 679 of 2015)
                           JULY 11, 2022                                B
   [SANJAY KISHAN KAUL AND M. M. SUNDRESH, JJ.]
      Extradition Act, 1962: Sovereign assurance – In the instant
case, appellant was extradited from the Republic of Portugal and
custody of the appellant was handed over to Indian authorities –
                                                                        C
Government of India submitted a solemn sovereign assurance under
the Portuguese law that appellant would not be convicted by death
penalty or imprisonment for a term beyond 25 years – Trial Court
convicted the appellant and sentenced him under the different
provisions of law – Held: Separation of Judicial and Executive
powers and the scheme of the Indian Constitution cannot bind the        D
Indian courts in proceedings under the Extradition Act – Thus, the
courts must proceed in accordance with law and impose the sentence
as the law of the land requires, while simultaneously the Executive
is bound to comply with its international obligations under the
Extradition Act – To achieve the objective of solemn assurance the
                                                                        E
methodology placed before the Portugal Courts was that Art.72(1)
of the Constitution conferred power on the President of India to
grant pardon, reprieve, respite or remit punishment or suspend, remit
or commute the sentence of any convict person convicted of any
offence – Further with the assurance under ss.432 and 433 of the
Cr.P.C. which conferred power on the Government to commute the          F
sentence to life imprisonment with terms not exceeding 14 years.
      Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: s.428 – Plea of set off –
Appellant was charged for travelling on a fake passport and was
arrested by Portguese Police in Lisbon on 18.09.2002 – Thereafter,
the appellant’s extradition proceedings started on 28.03.2003 – He      G
served sentence from 18.09.2002 to 12.10.2005 when he was
granted conditional release for the remaining sentence – To complete
the detention, he was again imprisoned from 12.10.2005 till
10.11.2005 for a month when he was handed over to the Indian
authorities – Appellant claimed that he was entitled to set off as he
                                                                        H
                                169
170           SUPREME COURT REPORTS                     [2022] 12 S.C.R.


A     was already in custody for a time period in Portugal – Designated
      Court, Mumbai did not give benefit of any set off from 18.09.2002
      till 12.10.2005 – Held: When reference is made in a set off for
      adjustment of periods, the reference is to proceedings within the
      country – The criminal law of the land does not have any extra-
      territorial application – Conviction and sentence from 18.09.2002
B
      in Portugal had nothing to do with the proceedings against him in
      India – However, he was granted conditional release for the
      remaining sentence on 12.10.2005 – He was again imprisoned from
      12.10.2005 till 10.11.2005, i.e. when he was handed over to the
      Indian authorities – From the perspective of detention of the case
C     in India, the period commences only on his being detained at
      Portugal on 12.10.2005, albeit giving him benefit of a little less
      than one month.
            Disposing of the appeals, the Court
            HELD: 1. The separation of Judicial and Executive powers
D     and the scheme of the Indian Constitution cannot bind the Indian
      courts in proceedings under the Extradition Act. Thus, the courts
      must proceed in accordance with law and impose the sentence as
      the law of the land requires, while simultaneously the Executive
      is bound to comply with its international obligations under the
E     Extradition Act as also on the principle of comity of courts, which
      forms the basis of the extradition. A reference to the solemn
      sovereign assurance on 17.12.2002 itself makes it clear that the
      assurance, which was given on behalf of the Executive in India
      was that if the appellant was extradited by Portugal for trial in
      India, he would not be visited with death penalty or imprisonment
F     for a term beyond 25 years. To achieve this objective the
      methodology placed before the Portugal Courts was that Article
      72(1) of the Constitution conferred power on the President of
      India to grant pardon, reprieve, respite or remit punishment or
      suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any convict person
G     convicted of any offence. This was with the assurance under
      Sections 432 and 433 of the Cr.P.C. which conferred the power
      on the Government to commute the sentence to life imprisonment
      with terms not exceeding 14 years. [Para 39][188-D-G]


H
  ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI v. THE STATE OF                         171
                 MAHARASHTRA

      2. A significant aspect is that the Courts in Portugal realised   A
the constraints of the extent to which the Government of India
could give an undertaking considering that the courts in India
were independent of Executive control. Thus, it was opined in
para 12.2 of the judgment of the Supreme Court of Portugal dated
27.01.2005 that what could be requested was only a guarantee by
                                                                        B
the Government of India that should a sentence be imposed higher
than that is specified, the Government of India would take all
measures to comply with its obligations. As to how the obligations
were to be complied with, was also specified by the Government
of India in the solemn sovereign assurance dated 17.12.2002, in
view of the powers of the President of India under Article 72(1)        C
of the Constitution. The President acts under the aid and advice
of the Government of India under the provisions of Article 74 of
the Constitution and, thus, the Government of India bound itself
to advice the President of India to commute the sentence to 25
years in view of its commitment to the Courts in Portugal. The
                                                                        D
sovereign assurance also mentioned Sections 432 and 433 of the
Cr.P.C., by which the Government could itself suspend or remit,
and commute the sentence respectively. [Para 40][189-C-F]
        3. When reference is made in a set off for adjustment of
periods, the reference is to proceedings within the country. The
criminal law of the land does not have any extra-territorial            E
application. Thus, what happens in another country for some other
trial, some other detention would not be relevant for the purposes
of the proceedings in India. The factual scenario is that the
appellant was charged with having a fake passport. He was found
guilty and convicted of sentence from 18.09.2002. This had              F
nothing to do with the proceedings against him in India. His
sentence would have been completed on 18.03.2007 de hors the
aspect of remission or commutation. However, he was granted
conditional release for the remaining sentence on 12.10.2005.
The mere fact that there was also a detention order under the
Red Corner notice was of no significance. He was again                  G
imprisoned from 12.10.2005 till 10.11.2005, i.e. when he was
handed over to the Indian authorities. The period till 10.12.2005,
when he was serving out the sentence, certainly could not have
been counted. That leaves the period of less than a month only,
                                                                        H
172            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                    [2022] 12 S.C.R.


A     which is really more of an academic exercise. The only case which
      could emerge was of taking the date when he was given a
      conditional release on 12.10.2005. Thus, if one looks from the
      perspective of detention of the case in India, the period
      commences only on his being detained at Portugal on 12.10.2005,
      albeit giving him benefit of a little less than one month [Paras 50,
B
      51][193-D-G; 194-A-C]
            4. In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, the
      detention of the appellant commence from 12.10.2005 in the
      present case. On the appellant completing 25 years of sentence,
      the Central Government is bound to advice the President of India
C     for exercise of his powers under Article 72 of the Constitution,
      and to release the appellant in terms of the national commitment
      as well as the principle based on comity of courts. In view thereof,
      the necessary papers be forwarded within a month of the period
      of completion of 25 years sentence of the appellant. In fact, the
D     Government can itself exercise this power in terms of Sections
      432 and 433 of the Cr.P.C. and such an exercise should also take
      place within the same time period of one month. [Para 54][195-
      C-D]
            Jaswinder Singh (Dead) Through Legal Representative
E           v. Navjot Singh Sidhu & Ors. 2022 SCC OnLine SC
            652; State of Maharashtra & Anr. v. Najakat Ali
            Mubarak Ali (2001) 6 SCC 311 : [2001] 3 SCR 600;
            Allan John Waters v. State of Maharashtra & Anr. 2012
            SCC Online Bom 389; Union of India v. V. Sriharan
            alias Murugan & Ors. (2016) 7 SCC 1 : [2015] 14
F           SCR 613; Bhagirath v. Delhi Administration (1985) 2
            SCC 580 : [1985] 3 SCR 743; Raghbir Singh v. State
            of Haryana (1984) 4 SCC 348 : [1985] 1 SCR 724;
            Atul Manubhai Parek v. CBI (2010) 1 SCC 603 : [2009]
            15 SCR 1105 – referred to.
G                           Case Law Reference
      [2001] 3 SCR 600               referred to           Para 24
      [2015] 14 SCR 613              referred to           Para 36
      [1985] 3 SCR 743               referred to           Para 44(iii)
H
     ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI v. THE STATE OF                            173
                    MAHARASHTRA

[1985] 1 SCR 724                  referred to              Para 48            A
[2009] 15 SCR 1105                referred to              Para 48
      CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No.
679 of 2015.
      From the Judgment and Order dated 25.02.2015 of the Designated          B
Court under the TADA (P) Act for Greater Bombay at Bombay passed
in T.A.D.A. Special Case No. 01 of 2006.
         With
         Criminal Appeal No. 180 of 2018
                                                                              C
      Rishi Malhotra, Utkarsh Singh, S. Hariharan, Vikash Singh,
Ms. Prapti Allagh, Advs. for the Appellant.
      K. M. Nataraj, ASG, Sanjay Kumar Tyagi, Rajesh K. Singh,
Shailesh Madiyal, Mayank Pandey, Vinayak Sharma, Sharath Nambiar,
Susheel Tiwari, Sachin Sharma, Arvind Kumar Sharma, Mukesh Kumar
                                                                              D
Maroria, Sachin Patil, Rahul Chitnis, Aaditya A. Pande, Geo Joseph,
Ms. Shwetal Shepal, Advs. for the Respondent.
         The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
         SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.
       1. Crime and punishment is something which has agitated the            E
judicial minds. Punishment cannot be disproportionately high or low. It
should not be oppressive, but should serve the purpose of deterrence
against crimes in a society along with a sense of justice to the victim and
their family. This is a delicate balance, which has to be kept in mind – an
aspect recently discussed in the judgment of this Court in Jaswinder          F
Singh (Dead) Through Legal Representative v. Navjot Singh Sidhu
& Ors.1 As was observed in the said case, the principle of just punishment
is the bedrock of sentencing in respect of a criminal offence. We are
faced with a somewhat similar scenario though with certain crucial
nuances, which have to be considered.
                                                                              G
         Facts :
      2. Abu Salem Abdul Kayyum Ansari has a history – and not a
palatable one at all. He has been a part of the crime syndicate as is
obvious from the facts of the two criminal appeals before us. Criminal
1
    2022 SCC OnLine SC 652                                                    H
174             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                         [2022] 12 S.C.R.


A     Appeal No.679/2015 emanates from threatening a party in a civil dispute
      relating to a property and extracting money, which under threat was
      conceded by the litigating party, i.e., Jain brothers. On failure to make
      the payment of some instalments of the threat money, one of the Jain
      brothers, i.e., Pradeep Jain, was murdered on 07.03.1995. As a result
      the crime was registered at D.N. Nagar Police Station under Sections
B
      302, 307, 452, 506(ii) read with Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code,
      1860 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘IPC’), read with Sections 5, 27 of
      the Arms Act, 1959 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Arms Act’) read
      with Sections 3(2)(i), 3(2)(ii), 3(5) and 5 of the Terrorist and Disruptive
      Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘TADA’).
C            3. The second Criminal Appeal No.180/2018, deals with the factual
      scenario where the very foundation of the civil society of our country
      was threatened and disrupted by causing bomb explosions at vital
      Government installations, public and crowded places in Mumbai and its
      suburbs (commonly known as the ‘Bombay Bomb Blasts’). Loss of life
D     and loss of properties in enormous amount was the result. The appellant
      was alleged to have stored, distributed and transported illegally smuggled
      AK-56 rifles, hand grenades as well as boxes of magazines from the
      godown in Gujarat to Mumbai in a Maruti van which had specially crafted
      secret cavities and all this was done after conspiratorial meetings relating
      to the blasts. In order to evade the penal consequences of his actions,
E     the appellant left Mumbai and later entered Portugal under an assumed
      name on a Pakistani passport, which reflects from where the conspiracy
      and support may have emanated.
             4. The appellant could not be arrested for his crime having moved
      out of the country during the course of the investigation and, thus, the
F     Designated Court, Mumbai issued Proclamation No.15777 of 1993 against
      him on 15.09.1993. As the appellant did not appear before the court, he
      was declared as a proclaimed offender on 15.10.1993. He was shown
      as an absconder in the chargesheet dated 04.11.1993. Thereafter,
      common charge of conspiracy was framed by the Designated Court,
G     Mumbai against all the accused persons on 10.04.1995. The Designated
      Court, Mumbai issued a non-bailable warrant against the appellant and
      Interpol Secretariat General, Lyons, France also issued a Red Corner
      notice for his arrest on 18.09.2002.
            Detention in Republic of Portugal:
H
  ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI v. THE STATE OF                                175
      MAHARASHTRA [SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.]

      5. The appellant having travelled on a fake passport to the Republic     A
of Portugal was charged with the same and convicted and sentenced on
18.09.2002. The said sentence would have been completed on 18.03.2007
without taking into consideration any remission or commutation or
conditional release. The fact remains that the appellant served the
sentence from 18.09.2002 to 12.10.2005 when he was granted conditional
                                                                               B
release for the remaining sentence.
      6. It is during this period of detention that on 18.09.2002, the
appellant was also formally detained (already in custody) by the
Portuguese Police in Lisbon on the basis of the Red Corner notice. To
complete the period of detention, he was again imprisoned from
12.10.2005 till 10.11.2005 for a month when he was handed over to the          C
Indian authorities.
     Extradition request and Sovereign assurance by the
Government of India:
       7. The Government of India through Mr. Omar Abdullah, who               D
was the then Minister of State for External Affairs, submitted a requisition
for extradition dated 13.12.2002 to Portugal in nine criminal cases relying
on the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings
and on an assurance of reciprocity as applicable in international law.
Along with the requisition, relevant facts of the cases were enclosed in
the form of duly sworn affidavits of the concerned police officers along       E
with supporting documents. Subsequently, the Government of India issued
a notification under Section 3(1) of the Extradition Act, 1962 (hereinafter
referred to as the ‘Extradition Act’) applying the provisions of the
Extradition Act to Portugal with effect from 13.12.2002.
        8. The Government of India further gave a solemn sovereign             F
assurance on 17.12.2002 through the then Deputy Prime Minister, Shri
L.K. Advani, to the effect that the Government will exercise its powers
conferred by the Indian laws to ensure that if extradited by Portugal for
trial in India, the appellant would not be visited by death penalty or
imprisonment for a term beyond 25 years. The assurance reproduced              G
Section 34C of the Extradition Act mandating that in case of extradition
of a fugitive criminal involved in the commission of offences punishable
with death in India, on his surrender, he shall not be liable for death
penalty and shall be liable for punishment of life imprisonment in place
of death penalty, for the said offence. The sovereign assurance also
                                                                               H
176             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                         [2022] 12 S.C.R.


A     referred to Article 72(1) of the Constitution of India (hereinafter referred
      to as the ‘Constitution’) to emphasise that the President of India has
      power to grant pardon, reprieve, respite, or remit punishment or suspend,
      remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence.
      Lastly, the assurance also mentioned that Sections 432 and 433 of the
      Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the
B
      ‘Cr.P.C.), which confer power on the Government to commute the
      sentence of life imprisonment to a term not exceeding 14 years. In a
      way, the relevant constitutional and legal provisions were brought to the
      notice of Portugal to give them confidence that there were provisions in
      India which would ensure that the commitments given would be adhered
C     to.
            9. The Ministry of Justice, Portugal by its order dated 28.03.2003,
      admitted the appellant’s extradition for offences such as, inter alia,
      Section 120-B read with Section 302 of the IPC and Section 3(2) of the
      TADA. The ministerial order, however, declined extradition for offences
D     such as Sections 201, 212, 324, 326, and 427 of the IPC, Sections 3(4), 5
      and 6 of the TADA, Sections 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act,
      1908 (hereinafter referred to the ‘Explosive Substances Act’), Section
      9-B of the Explosive Act, 1984 and Sections 25(1-A) and (1-B) of the
      Arms Act.
E           10. The Ambassador of India in Lisbon gave another solemn
      assurance on 25.05.2003 that if the appellant is extradited, then:
            i. he will not be prosecuted for offences other than those for which
            the extradition was sought, and
            ii. he will not be extradited to any third country.
F
             11. The appellant preferred an appeal against the aforesaid
      ministerial order dated 28.03.2003 before the Court of Appeal, Lisbon
      and the said Court vide order dated 14.07.2004 allowed the appellant’s
      extradition for offences mentioned in the request, except those which
      are punishable with death or life imprisonment. The Supreme Court of
G     Portugal confirmed the aforesaid order of the Court of Appeal, Lisbon
      on 27.01.2005 in view of the assurance given by the Government of
      India that the person extradited would not be visited with death penalty
      or imprisonment for a term beyond 25 years. The Courts in Portugal
      granted extradition for the following offences:
H
  ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI v. THE STATE OF                                   177
      MAHARASHTRA [SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.]

                                                                                  A




                                                                                  B




                                                                                  C




      The Supreme Court of Portugal while emphasising on the “principle           D
of speciality” stated that it cannot be suspected that the appellant will be
subjected to trial for committing offences not included in the extradition
request.
        12. The consequence of the failure of the Indian Government to
fulfil its undertaking to impose a sentence as submitted in its assurance         E
was clearly specified in the aforesaid order dated 27.01.2005, i.e., Portugal
either officiously or upon the interested party’s request, could timely
demand devolution of the appellant. The Court specifically observed in
para 12.2 of its judgment that the Government of India cannot guarantee
that the sentence as assured by the Government of India will be applied
by the Courts in India, in view of the Indian judicial system where the           F
Courts are independent of the Executive. Hence, the Court stated that it
could only request a guarantee that should such sentence be imposed, in
order to restrict the sentence, it will resort to all legal measures available,
the description of which had already been set out in the request letter.
On 13.06.2005, the appellant’s appeal against this order dated 27.01.2005         G
was rejected by the Constitutional Court of Portugal.
      13. The custody of the appellant was handed over to the Indian
authorities on 10.11.2005, the appellant was extradited to India from
Portugal on 11.11.2005 and was arrested on 24.11.2005. On 09.12.2005,
the Designated Court, Mumbai altered the common charge of criminal
                                                                                  H
178             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                         [2022] 12 S.C.R.


A     conspiracy by adding the appellant’s name in the list of the accused
      persons before the court, by deleting his name from the list of absconding
      accused in the said charge. That brought to an end the saga of ensuring
      that the appellant is brought back to India and is tried and sentenced for
      what he had done.
B           History of Proceedings:
              14. It is not necessary in view of the limited pleas urged and
      examined in this case to get into a further detailed examination of facts
      and evidence. Suffice to say that by Criminal Appeal No. 990 of 2006,
      the appellant first assailed the order dated 13.06.2006 of the Designated
C     Court, Mumbai, which had separated the trial of the appellant from the
      main trial as well as a prior order dated 18.03.2006 of the Designated
      Court, Mumbai, where substantive charges were framed against the
      appellant for different offences relating to the IPC and TADA. In addition,
      Criminal Appeals Nos. 1142-1143 of 2007 were filed against the order
      framing charges dated 16.04.2007. A writ petition was also filed seeking
D     quashing of charges and proceedings against him on the ground that the
      trial for offences for which he has specifically not been extradited is
      violative of the fundamental rights enshrined under Article 21 of the
      Constitution. This was coupled with the appellant moving an application
      before the Court of Appeal, Lisbon which was predicated on the violation
E     of the assurance given by India as he was sought to be tried in India in
      violation of “principle of speciality”.
             15. The Court of Appeal in Lisbon passed an order dated
      18.05.2007 while opining that it did not have the competence to order
      the devolution of the appellant, observed that if the alleged violations
F     were confirmed, it could only justify the accountability of the State (India
      in this case) at an international level, which does not depend on the
      action of any Portuguese Court and adequate use of defence by the
      appellant under Indian laws. On appeal to the Supreme Court of Portugal,
      the matter was remitted to the Court of Appeal, Lisbon by an order
      dated 13.12.2007 to enquire whether violation of the “principle of
G     speciality” had taken place. It further opined that if any violation did
      take place, the Court of Appeal, Lisbon would extract all due
      consequences such as declaring the termination of the authorisation for
      extradition, in which case the presence of the appellant in India would
      have to be considered illegal. However, the Court of Appeals, Lisbon
H     considered it appropriate to defer consideration of the matter till the
  ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI v. THE STATE OF                                 179
      MAHARASHTRA [SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.]

Supreme Court of India passed a final order in the aforementioned appeals       A
and the writ petition. The Supreme Court of India passed a common
order dated 10.09.2010 with respect to the aforementioned appeals and
the writ petition and observed that Portugal had not included certain
offences for which charges had been framed against the appellant by
the Designated Court, Mumbai. However, it opined that a bare reading
                                                                                B
of Section 21 of the Extradition Act indicated that the appellant could be
tried for lesser offences, in addition to the offences for which he had
been extradited. These charges made in addition were punishable with
lesser punishment than the offence for which he had been extradited
and, thus, these lesser offences could not be equated with the term “minor
offence” as mentioned in Section 222 of the Cr.P.C. The opinion given           C
was that there had been no violation of the “principle of speciality” and
the solemn sovereign assurance given by the Government of India in the
letter by the Indian Ambassador dated 25.05.2003.
       16. On the aforesaid opinion being delivered of the Supreme Court
of India, the Court of Appeal, Lisbon in its order dated 14.09.2011 held        D
that the authorisation granted for the appellant’s extradition ought to be
terminated. It was also held that while not considering the limits imposed
by Portugal on the appellant’s extradition, India had violated the “principle
of speciality”. If the extradition for certain crimes was not admissible in
the ministerial order dated 28.03.2003 due to lapses of the criminal cases,
then India could not impute and try the appellant for identical crimes at a     E
subsequent time, even if it is well founded on different facts. The Court
further opined that Law 144/99 of 31 August does not anticipate any
specific consequences for violation of “principle of speciality”, however,
this did not prevent Portugal from calling for intervention of instances of
international jurisdiction, drawing due political conclusions from the case,    F
and reacting through political-diplomatic channels, for which the judgment
passed by the Portuguese Courts would be relevant. However, crime
punishable under Section 3(3) of the TADA had not been expressly or
implicitly excluded by Portugal in the appellant’s extradition and, thus,
the same could be imputed on the appellant without violation of “principle
of speciality” laid down in Article 16 of Law 144/99 of 31 August, which        G
reads as under:
         “Article 16 – Rule of Speciality
      1. The person who, as a consequence ofan act of international
      cooperation appears in Portugal to participate in a penal procedure       H
180            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2022] 12 S.C.R.


A           as a suspect, defendant or convicted person cannot be prosecuted,
            tried, detained or subjected to any other restriction of his freedom
            for a fact prior to his presence on national territory, other than the
            one which gives rise to the request for cooperation formulated by
            a Portuguese authority.
B           2. The person who, under the terms of the number above, appears
            before a foreign authority cannot be prosecuted, detained or tried
            or subjected to any other restriction of his freedom for a fact or
            conviction prior to his leaving the Portuguese territory other than
            those determined in the request for cooperation.
C           3. Before the transfer referred to in the number above is
            authorised, the State that formulates the request must provide the
            assurance required for the compliance with the rule of speciality.
            4. The immunity referred to in this article ceases whenever:
               a. the person under consideration has the possibility of leaving
D              the Portuguese or foreign territory and does not do so within
               45 days; or
               b. He voluntarily returns to one of those territories;
               c. After earlier hearing the suspect, defendant or the convicted
               person, the State that authorises the transfer gives consent for
E
               the derogation of the rule of speciality.
            5. The provisions of numbers 1 and 2 do not exclude the possibility
            of requesting by means of a new request for the extension of the
            cooperation to facts other than those that laid the foundation for
            the previous one, a request which will be submitted and prepared
F
            under the terms of this legal statute.
            6. In the case referred to in the number above, the submission of
            proceedings containing the declarations of the person who benefits
            from the rule of speciality is mandatory.
G           7. In the event of the request being submitted to a foreign State,
            the cases referred to in the number above, are drawn up by the
            High Court situated in the place where the person who benefits
            from the rule of speciality resides or is present.”
            17. The Union of India filed an appeal before the Supreme Court
H     of Portugal, which was dismissed on 11.01.2012 as the Court observed
  ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI v. THE STATE OF                                  181
      MAHARASHTRA [SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.]

that the non-observance of the “principle of speciality” requires two            A
orders of consequences in the ambit of international relations – first, the
mistrust on a State that does not have a credible and reliable behaviour
in its international relations, and second, a discredit of the judicial power
that is used by the institution of extradition in duplicity manner, generating
doubts on the administration of justice. A further appeal before the
                                                                                 B
Constitutional Court of Portugal was also dismissed on 05.07.2012 and,
thus, the termination of appellant’s extradition attained finality. There
rests the story of the extradition proceedings in Portugal.
       18. However, the appellant filed Criminal Appeal Nos. 415-416 of
2012 before the Supreme Court of India challenging the order of the
Designated Court, Mumbai dated 08.11.2011, which had dismissed the               C
applications filed by the appellant for stay of all further proceedings in
view of the order dated 14.09.2011 passed by the Court of Appeals,
Lisbon treating the extradition order dated 28.03.2003 as having been
withdrawn. The abovementioned appeals were still pending when the
Central Bureau of Investigation (for short ‘CBI’) filed an application for       D
clarification/modification of the judgment and order dated 10.09.2010 of
the Supreme Court of India and prayed for permission to withdraw certain
charges levelled against the appellant. It was the submission of the CBI
that in the interest of comity of courts and united fight at international
level against global terrorism, the Government of India was making further
efforts through diplomatic talks and the additional charges framed against       E
the appellant might come as an impediment in furthering such diplomatic
talks. The application of the CBI was allowed by the Supreme Court of
India in terms of its order dated 05.08.2013 to the extent of withdrawal
of additional charges under Sections 3(3), 5 and 6 of the TADA, Sections
4(b) and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, Sections 25(1-A), (1-B)(a)           F
read with Section 387 of the Arms Act, as well as Section 9-B of the
Explosives Act, 1884. The Court observed that the offences for which
the appellant was extradited to India are grave enough to award the
appellant with maximum punishment and, therefore, it would not be
detrimental to any of the parties. This Court also held that the ministerial
order dated 28.03.2003 stands valid and effective in the eyes of law and         G
that the Portugal Courts had categorically stated that the Portuguese
law does not provide for any specific consequence for violation of the
“principle of speciality”. Thus, the findings of the Portugal Courts may
not be construed as a direction to the Union of India to return the appellant
to Portugal but shall serve as a legal basis for the Government of Portugal      H
182            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                         [2022] 12 S.C.R.


A     to seek return of the appellant through political or diplomatic channels,
      which had not been done till that date according to the then learned
      Attorney General. The Court also recorded the then Attorney General’s
      assurance that they were in the process of withdrawing other charges
      pending in various States against the appellant, which were claimed to
      be in violation of the extradition order. Thus, what the Government of
B
      India sought to do was to bring the legal process fully in conformity with
      the extradition order of Portugal albeit belatedly and the consequences
      of the termination of the appellant’s extradition attained finality. This
      showed that the Government of India was conscious of its sovereign
      assurance and sought to do everything to abide by its assurance at that
C     stage.
            Trial Court Proceedings:
            A. Sovereign Assurance:
            19. The State initially pressed for awarding death sentence to the
D     appellant in Special Case No.1/2006. However, after the arguments of
      the defence, the State submitted that death penalty is out of question in
      the appellant’s case but in view of Section 34C of the Extradition Act
      and Section 302 of the IPC, the appellant was liable to be punished with
      imprisonment for life. It was urged that the solemn sovereign assurance
      given by the Deputy Prime Ministry of India could not be construed as a
E     guarantee that no court in India would award the punishment provided
      by Indian law and the same would, thus, come into play after awarding
      the punishment by the Designated Court, Mumbai.
             20. On the other hand, the appellant sought to urge that the solemn
      sovereign assurance given to Portugal was construed as an undertaking
F     that no court in India shall award punishment of death or punishment for
      a period of more than 25 years and a paramount duty had been cast
      upon the Designated Court, Mumbai to enforce the solemn sovereign
      assurance while awarding the punishment. While conceding that Section
      34C of the Extradition Act, Section 302 of the IPC and Section 3(2)(i) of
G     the TADA are mandatory in character, the plea was that the hands of
      the Designated Court, Mumbai are tied from awarding punishment for
      more than 25 years.
            21. The Designated Court, Mumbai examined the aforesaid
      submissions and expressed concerns about serious repercussions if a
      decision was taken contrary to the letter and spirit of Indian law. At the
H
     ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI v. THE STATE OF                            183
         MAHARASHTRA [SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.]

same time, the spirit of the solemn sovereign assurance given by the          A
Deputy Prime Minister of India and understood by the Supreme Court
of Justice, Portugal in its judgment dated 27.01.2005 could not be lost
sight of as in substance, the principles of comity of courts and respect
for Indian Government and law was in issue. Section 34C of the Extradition
Act mentioned in the sovereign assurance made it clear that no court in
                                                                              B
India was empowered in the appellant’s extradition to award death
sentence to him and that he could only be liable for life imprisonment.
The objective of incorporating Article 72 of the Constitution and Sections
432 and 433 of the Cr.P.C. was to assure that the Union of India would
ensure that while executing the sentence or punishment imposed by the
Court in India, the Union of India would exercise its powers and bring        C
down the punishment consistent with the solemn sovereign assurance
given to the Government of Portugal.
       22. The trial court opined that the sovereign assurance was a
plain and simple assurance that death penalty was out of question and if
any other punishment was awarded as per law by Indian Courts, the             D
Government of India would exercise the powers under the Constitution,
Indian Extradition Act and the Cr.P.C. to bring the punishment in
conformity with the assurance. The Government of India was conscious
of the principle of the independence of the Judiciary. The sovereign
assurance could not have been construed as an assurance of the Courts
of India and, in fact, had not been so construed by the Courts at Portugal.   E
The independence of Judiciary would not support impeding the powers
of the Designated Court, Mumbai to exercise its jurisdiction to award
punishment provided under the law. This is so as the application in
awarding the punishment fell within the domain and jurisdiction of the
court, whereas the execution of the punishment fell within the domain         F
and jurisdiction of the executive and this power of the executive was
independent and not subject to judicial review.
      23. The effect of the aforesaid was that the Judiciary had to
perform its functions of imposing sentence in accordance with law, while
the executive would have to perform its duty by restricting the sentence      G
in conformity with the assurance given to the Portuguese Courts.
         B. Set off claimed by the Appellant:
    24. The appellant relied upon the decision of this Court in State of
Maharashtra & Anr . v. Najakat Ali Mubarak Ali 2 and submitted that
2
    (2001) 6 SCC 311                                                          H
184               SUPREME COURT REPORTS                       [2022] 12 S.C.R.


A     as per Section 428 of the Cr.P.C., the period of imprisonment undergone
      by an accused as an undertrial prisoner during investigation, inquiry or
      trial of a particular case, irrespective of whether it was in connection to
      that very case, or another case can be set-off for the period of detention
      imposed on conviction in that particular case. The appellant, thus,
      submitted that he was entitled to the benefit of set off as he was already
B
      in custody for a time period in Portugal.
             25. On this aspect, the Designated Court, Mumbai opined that the
      appellant was not kept in detention till 12.10.2005 exclusively pursuant
      to the execution of the Red Corner notice by the Interpol and, thus,
      could not be granted set off for the period for which he was undergoing
C     the sentence awarded to him by the Portuguese Court against the
      sentence awarded to him in the present case. A set off would amount to
      granting benefit to the appellant even for the period for which he was
      sentenced for commission of offences as per Portuguese law in the
      Republic of Portugal.
D            26. The judgment in Allan John Waters v. State of Maharashtra
      &Anr.3 sought to be relied upon by the appellant was distinguished as in
      that case the accused was not arrested in USA for commission of offence
      under the laws of USA while in the present case it was so. The
      proposition of law in Najakat Ali Mubarak Ali4 case was also found
E     not applicable. The appellant was arrested on 11.11.2005 and was arrested
      in TADA Special Case No.1/2006 later, where the benefit of set off had
      been granted to him. The appellant would, thus, have the benefit of set
      off from that date against the sentence that would be imposed on him.
            27. The Designated Court, Mumbai convicted the appellant and
F     sentenced him under the different provisions of law as reflected in the
      judgment, which need not be referred to by us because that does not
      have a bearing on the propositions advanced before us.
               The Present Proceedings:
            28. The appeal was taken up for hearing on 02.02.2022, when the
G     learned counsel for the appellant, Mr. Rishi Malhotra made a four-fold
      submission recorded in that order as under:
               “1) The stand of the Government of India/State Government (three
               appeals have been prosecuted by the State while two other by the
      3
          2012 SCCOnline Bom 389
H     4
          (supra)
  ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI v. THE STATE OF                               185
      MAHARASHTRA [SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.]

      C.B.I.) vis-à-vis the solemn sovereign assurance given by them          A
      to the Court in Portugal while seeking extradition of the appellant
      (on 17.12.2002 and 25.05.2003). In a nutshell it is his submission
      that the imprisonment term cannot extend beyond 25 years as per
      the assurance given, even though the TADA Courts said it was
      not bound by the assurances as the judicial system was independent
                                                                              B
      of the executive. He submits that even if the TADA Court does
      not have the power, this Court can pass necessary orders based
      on an affidavit to be filed by the Central Government/prosecuting
      agencies. Learned counsel for the State submits that by and large
      they will follow the guidance of the Central Government in this
      behalf but we believe in any case the Central Government/               C
      prosecuting agencies may discuss this issue with the State
      Government to file an appropriate affidavit before us.
      2) The period of set-off, as according to the learned counsel for
      the appellant(s) he was detained on 18.09.2002 by the Portugal
      authorities on account of the look out notice, that should be the       D
      reckoning time and not when he was released from the Portugal
      Court and taken into custody by the Indian authorities on
      12.10.2005.
      3) The consequences of Portugal Courts withdrawing the
      permission for extradition on account of breach of the solemn           E
      sovereign assurance given to them.
      4) The Merits of the controversy.”
       29. He made a submission, which was recorded, that it may be
possible to resolve these appeals if a reasonable stand is taken at least
on the first aspect and on the second aspect, also the authorities might      F
take a stand or in the alternative he would endeavour to persuade the
Court. We found that a fair stand was taken by the counsel and called
upon the Union of India to take a stand on both these aspects. However,
the affidavit filed was not found to be satisfactory. We wanted a clear
stand on behalf of the Government of India as to whether it stood by the      G
international commitment made by the former Deputy Prime Minister of
India and, thus, called upon the Home Secretary to file an affidavit in the
case.
       30. On 21.04.2022, we recorded a detailed order. We went into
the affidavit filed by the Home Secretary, who had emphasised what
                                                                              H
186            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2022] 12 S.C.R.


A     was only obvious, that it was a dastardly act conducted with pre-
      meditation in which the appellant played a very active role, was absconding
      and brought back to India under the Extradition Act. These powers were
      stated to be Executive powers which would bind the Executive of the
      respective States but the Judiciary, as the Constitution of India envisaged
      was independent in deciding the cases in accordance with the law
B
      applicable. Para 6 of that affidavit referred to the assurance given vide
      letter dated 17.02.2002 as solemn assurance to the Government of
      Portugal by the Government of India, while para 7 stated as under:
            “It is respectfully submitted that the Government of India is bound
            by the assurance dated 17.12.2002.The period of 25 years which
C           is mentioned in the assurance will be abided by the Union of India
            at an appropriate time subject to the remedies which may be
            available.”
             31. We did not appreciate the underlined portion aforesaid as once
      it was recognised that the Government would abide by the assurance,
D     nothing more or less was to be said. As far as the courts were concerned,
      they were to take a view as to the effect of that assurance.
             32. The affidavit also averred that the occasion for the Union of
      India honouring the assurance will arise only when period of 25 years
      was to expire. We noted that we had to take a call on the effect of that
E     assurance and we could not postpone the hearing of the appeal on that
      basis, nor was it permissible for the Government to say on an affidavit
      that the appellant could not raise this argument. In effect, the affidavit
      sought to urge this Court to decide the appeal on merits. As to what the
      Court will do will be the Court’s own call. If the convict was accepting
F     his guilt, he could not be compelled to urge on the merits of the appeal.
      Learned counsel for the appellant on that date also clearly stated that his
      third and fourth pleas recorded aforesaid stood withdrawn. In view of
      the assurance of the Government of India, he only sought that the sentence
      should be 25 years in terms of the solemn assurance. The other point
      sought to be urged and debated before us is the point of set off. The
G     appeal was finally heard on 05.05.2022 and judgment was reserved.
            Legal Pleas urged before us:
            33. The matter remained in a narrow contour in view of what we
      have recorded aforesaid, i.e., on the two aspects of sovereign assurance
      and set off.
H
     ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI v. THE STATE OF                             187
         MAHARASHTRA [SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.]

          Plea of Sovereign Assurance:                                         A
        34. The appellant submitted that solemn sovereign assurance dated
17.12.2002 categorically mentioned that under Portuguese law, an
offender cannot be extradited to the requesting country if the offences
committed attract either death penalty or imprisonment for an indefinite
period beyond 25 years. The supplementary assurance dated 25.05.2003           B
envisaged that the appellant will not be prosecuted for offences other
than those for which extradition had been sought. The affidavit submitted
by the Home Secretary, Government of India dated 18.04.2022 also
stated that the Government of India was bound by its assurance. These
solemn assurances were considered by the Court of Appeals, Lisbon in
its judgment dated 14.07.2004 and the Supreme Court of Justice, Portugal       C
in its judgment dated 27.01.2005. It was opined that the rule of traditional
estoppel doctrine as well as International Public Law (for instance,
with respect to principle of reciprocity) required that the solemn sovereign
guarantees provided by sovereign States are respected in future. The
consequence of failure to do so gave Portugal the right to timely demand       D
devolution of the person to be extradited through diplomatic or judicial
channel.
       35. The aforesaid aspect has been kept in mind by the Designated
Court, Mumbai in its main judgment dated 07.09.2017, wherein it opined
that India would ensure that while executing the sentence or punishment        E
imposed by the court in India, it would exercise its power and bring
down the punishment consistent and commensurate with the solemn
sovereign assurance.
       36. The only real submission in this behalf by the learned counsel
for the appellant was that in view of the Constitution Bench decision of       F
this Court in Union of India v. V. Sriharan alias Murugan & Ors.5 it
had been opined that the powers to impose a modified punishment
providing for any specific term of incarceration lies only either with the
High Court or the Supreme Court, and not any inferior court. Thus, what
the counsel urged was that this Court should opine now itself as to when
the term would end and direct the release of the appellant on expiry of        G
that term.
       37. On the other hand, learned ASG, Mr. K.M. Nataraj urged that
in the Constitutional Scheme of India, there was a doctrine of separation
5
    2016 (7) SCC 1 (paras 104 & 105)                                           H
188             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2022] 12 S.C.R.


A     of powers with the Judiciary being independent and, thus, the solemn
      sovereign assurance given by the Executive was carefully worded such
      that it could not bind the Judiciary while deciding the case on merits. The
      Extradition Act enabled the Executive of one State to extradite accused/
      convicts of another State. These were Executive powers, by only the
      Executive of the respective States were bound.
B
             38. It was sought to be urged that honouring the period of 25
      years mentioned in the assurance will arise only when the 25 years
      were to expire, i.e., on 10.11.2030 and that the Union of India would
      abide by the period of 25 years at an appropriate time subject to remedies,
      which may be available and that such a plea cannot be raised as an
C     argument before the period elapses.
             39. We tend to agree with the submissions of the learned ASG on
      the larger conspectus, i.e., the separation of Judicial and Executive powers
      and the scheme of the Indian Constitution cannot bind the Indian courts
      in proceedings under the Extradition Act. Thus, the courts must proceed
D     in accordance with law and impose the sentence as the law of the land
      requires, while simultaneously the Executive is bound to comply with its
      international obligations under the Extradition Act as also on the principle
      of comity of courts, which forms the basis of the extradition. A reference
      to the solemn sovereign assurance on 17.12.2002 itself makes it clear
E     that the assurance, which was given on behalf of the Executive in India
      was that if the appellant was extradited by Portugal for trial in India, he
      would not be visited with death penalty or imprisonment for a term beyond
      25 years. To achieve this objective the methodology placed before the
      Portugal Courts was that Article 72(1) of the Constitution conferred
      power on the President of India to grant pardon, reprieve, respite or
F     remit punishment or suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any
      convict person convicted of any offence. This was with the assurance
      under Sections 432 and 433 of the Cr.P.C. which conferred the power
      on the Government to commute the sentence to life imprisonment with
      terms not exceeding 14 years. It is also the subsequent solemn assurance
G     of the Ambassador of India given on 25.05.2003 that on the appellant
      being extradited, he will not be prosecuted for offences other than those
      for which the extradition was sought and he will not be extradited to any
      third country. Insofar as the latter assurance is concerned, it is nobody’s
      subsisting case that there is a violation or there can at all be a violation.
      As far as the first assurance is concerned, there was some ostensible
H
     ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI v. THE STATE OF                             189
         MAHARASHTRA [SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.]

deviation from it, but the ultimate affidavit in the earlier proceedings       A
before the Supreme Court sought to correct it by limiting the trial to the
offences for which he was extradited. That is the reason that the
challenge to the extradition proceedings on account of extradition order
being recalled by Portugal Courts was given up before us. No doubt
those proceedings attained finality before the Portugal Courts but it is
                                                                               B
subsequently in the earlier proceedings before the Supreme Court of
India that the Government of India possibly realising the larger
consequences, sought to bring it within the conformity with the order of
the Portugal Courts.
        40. A significant aspect is that the Courts in Portugal realised the
constraints of the extent to which the Government of India could give an       C
undertaking considering that the courts in India were independent of
Executive control. Thus, it was opined in para 12.2 of the judgment of
the Supreme Court of Portugal dated 27.01.2005 that what could be
requested was only a guarantee by the Government of India that should
a sentence be imposed higher than that is specified, the Government of         D
India would take all measures to comply with its obligations. As to how
the obligations were to be complied with, was also specified by the
Government of India in the solemn sovereign assurance dated 17.12.2002,
in view of the powers of the President of India under Article 72(1) of the
Constitution. The President acts under the aid and advice of the
Government of India under the provisions of Article 74 of the Constitution     E
and, thus, the Government of India bound itself to advice the President
of India to commute the sentence to 25 years in view of its commitment
to the Courts in Portugal. The sovereign assurance also mentioned
Sections 432 and 433 of the Cr.P.C., by which the Government could
itself suspend or remit, and commute the sentence respectively.                F
       41. We do believe that looking into the grievousness of the offence
in which the appellant was involved, there is no question for this Court
exercising any special privileges to commute or restrict the period of
sentence of the appellant. In fact, different States in India have followed
different patterns before even a case for remission is considered. We,         G
thus, do not accept that the plea of the learned counsel for the appellant
based on the judgment of this Court in Sriharan6 case.
      42. However, we are in agreement with the submissions of the
learned counsel for the appellant and do not accept the contention of the
6
    (supra)                                                                    H
190             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                         [2022] 12 S.C.R.


A     learned ASG that we should not opine on this aspect at present. The
      affidavit of the Union of India through the Home Secretary is clear, at
      least, to the effect that they will abide by the assurance given by the
      Government of India to Portugal. Thus, on completion of the period of
      25 years of sentence, in compliance of its commitment to the courts in
      Portugal, it is required that the Government of India advise the President
B
      of India to exercise its powers under Article 72(1) of the Constitution to
      commute the remaining sentence, or that the Government of India
      exercise powers under Sections 432 and 433 of the Cr.P.C. We do believe
      that there is a necessity of making this time bound so that it does not
      result in an unending exercise and, thus, the Government of India must
C     exercise the aforesaid powers or render advice on which the President
      of India is expected to act, within a month of the period of completion of
      sentence. We say so also to respect the very basis on which the Courts
      of Portugal observed the principles of comity of courts by recognising
      that there is a separation of powers in India and, thus, the Courts cannot
      give any assurance. The corresponding principle of comity of courts,
D
      thus, has to be observed such that the Government of India having given
      the solemn assurance, and having accepted the same before us, is bound
      to act in terms of the aforesaid. We are, thus, taking a call on this issue
      now and do not want to leave it to any uncertainty in future. This is of
      course subject to any aggravating aspect of the appellant.
E           Plea of Set off:
             43. The appellant was arrested on 18.09.2002 on the basis of the
      Red Corner notice. Thereafter, the appellant’s extradition proceedings
      started on 28.03.2003. The Designated Court, Mumbai did not give
      benefit of any set off from 18.09.2002 till 12.10.2005.
F
              44. Learned counsel for the appellant urged that as per Section
      428 of the Cr.P.C., an accused person is entitled to set off for the period
      of detention undergone by him during any investigation or inquiry and
      such period would be set off against the remainder of the sentence. It
      was also urged that it is immaterial that the appellant was in custody for
G     some other case in Portugal and was also serving a sentence there, as it
      is not the requirement of law that an accused has to be only in exclusive
      custody of that particular case for which the set off is claimed. To support
      this proposition learned counsel for the appellant relied upon the following
      judicial pronouncements:
H
     ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI v. THE STATE OF                              191
         MAHARASHTRA [SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.]

          i.    Allan John Waters7: The petitioner therein was arrested         A
                in pursuance of a Red Corner notice on 02.07.2003 and
                remained in custody till 06.09.2004. The extradition
                procedure had commenced in America and the competent
                court had allowed the extradition to India on 24.11.2003
                though the petitioner was finally brought to India only on
                                                                                B
                06.09.2004. The Bombay High Court vide its judgment dated
                13.03.2012 referred to Section 2(h) of Cr.P.C., which defines
                ‘investigation’ and held that all proceedings for collection
                of evidence etc., is investigation, and hence the proceedings
                adopted by the investigating officer for seeking arrest was
                also part of the investigation. Hence, the detention in         C
                America of the appellant in that case was his detention
                during investigation.
          ii.   Najakat Ali Mubarak Ali 8: This court observed that
                Sections 427 and 428 of the Cr.P.C. are intended to provide
                amelioration to the prisoner. Under Section 427 of the          D
                Cr.P.C., the sentence of life imprisonment imposed on the
                same person in two different convictions would converge
                into one and thereafter it would flow through one stream
                alone. Even if the sentence in one of those two cases is not
                imprisonment for life, but only a lesser term, the
                convergence will take place and post-convergence flow           E
                would be through the same channel. In all other cases, it is
                left to the court to decide whether the sentences in two
                different convictions should merge into one period or not.
                Under Section 428 of the Cr.P.C., if the convict was in
                prison, for whatever reason, during the stages of               F
                investigation, inquiry or trial of a particular case and was
                later convicted and sentenced to any term of imprisonment
                in that case, the earlier period of detention undergone by
                him should be counted as part of the sentence imposed on
                him and it is immaterial if the prisoner was undergoing a
                sentence of imprisonment in another case also during the        G
                said period.


7
    (supra)
8
    (supra)                                                                     H
192                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS                       [2022] 12 S.C.R.


A              iii.     Bhagirath v. Delhi Administration9: The Constitution
                        Bench held that the assumption that the word “term” under
                        Section 428 of Cr.P.C. implies a concept of ascertainability,
                        or conveys a sense of certainty is contrary to the letter of
                        law and hence the period of detention undergone by the
                        accused as undertrial prisoners shall be set off against the
B
                        sentence of life imprisonment imposed on them.
             45. The nutshell of the submission was that the set off period
      should commence from 18.09.2002 when the appellant was arrested
      pursuant to the Red Corner notice, or at worst from 28.03.2003, i.e., the
      date of the ministerial order when extradition was granted to the appellant
C     for various offences.
             46. On the other hand, learned ASG referred to the fact that the
      appellant was convicted by the Courts in Portugal for an offence
      committed in Portugal and was serving a sentence which cannot be for
      the appellant’s benefit for purposes of Section 428 of the Cr.P.C. The
D     period undergone by the appellant then was not as an undertrial prisoner
      as in the present case. In any case, assuming that the Union of India is
      bound by its assurance, the period would start only from the date the
      appellantwas handed over to the Indian authorities, i.e., 10.11.2005.
             47. Learned ASG also submitted that the convicts sentenced to
E     life imprisonment are liable to undergo imprisonment for the rest of their
      normal life, subject to power under Sections 432 and433 of the Cr.P.C.,
      or Article 72 or 161 of the Constitution and Section 428 of the Cr.P.C.
      will be attracted only if and when such power is exercised. Thus, Section
      428 of the Cr.P.C. applies to a specified term, and not the whole life of
F     the accused as there is no purpose of setting off a few years from the
      punishment of life imprisonment. However, no order under Sections 432
      and433 of the Cr.P.C., Article 72 or 161 of the Constitution has been
      passed in the present case so far and as such Section 428of the Cr.P.C.
      has no application.

G           48. Learned ASG sought to rely upon the judgment of this Court
      in Raghbir Singh v. State of Haryana10, wherein it was held that to
      secure the benefit of Section 428 of the Cr.P.C., the prisoner should
      show that he had been detained in prison for the purpose of investigation,

      9
          (1985) 2 SCC 580
      10
H          (1984) 4 SCC 348
     ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI v. THE STATE OF                              193
         MAHARASHTRA [SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.]

inquiry or trial of the case in which he is later on convicted and sentenced.   A
The Court also held that an accused cannot claim a double benefit under
Section 428 of the Cr.P.C., i.e., the same period being counted as part of
the period of imprisonment imposed for committing the former offence
and also being set off against the period of imprisonment imposed for
committing the latter offence as well. This view was also followed in
                                                                                B
Atul Manubhai Parek v. CBI11.
       49. In the context of the judgment of this Court in Najakat Ali
Mubarak Ali12 case, it was submitted by learned ASG that the judgment
in Raghbir Singh13 case was considered, but not overruled. It was urged
before us that there is apparently a misreading of the opinion of Justice
Phukan as it aligned with the dissenting opinion of Justice R.P. Sethi and      C
did not concur with Justice K.T. Thomas’s opinion, which had opined
that any other period, which is not connected with a case cannot be said
to be reckonable for set off. It was submitted that these judgments have
also been mentioned in Atul Manubhai Parek14 case but the Court has
followed the view taken in Raghbir Singh15 case.                                D
       50. On examination of the submissions, we are unable to concur
with the view sought to be propounded by learned counsel for the appellant.
It cannot be lost sight that when reference is made in a set off for
adjustment of periods, the reference is to proceedings within the country.
The criminal law of the land does not have any extra-territorial application.   E
Thus, what happens in another country for some other trial, some other
detention, in our view, would not be relevant for the purposes of the
proceedings in the country. The factual scenario is that the appellant
was charged with having a fake passport. He was found guilty and
convicted of sentence from 18.09.2002. This had nothing to do with the
proceedings against him in India. His sentence would have been                  F
completed on 18.03.2007 de hors the aspect of remission or
commutation. However, he was granted conditional release for the
remaining sentence on 12.10.2005. The mere fact that there was also a
detention order under the Red Corner notice was of no significance. He
was again imprisoned from 12.10.2005 till 10.11.2005, i.e. when he was          G
handed over to the Indian authorities. The period till 10.12.2005, when
11
   (2010) 1 SCC 603
12
   (supra)
13
   (supra)
14
   (supra)
15
   (supra)                                                                      H
194                SUPREME COURT REPORTS                      [2022] 12 S.C.R.


A     he was serving out the sentence, certainly could not have been counted.
      That leaves the period of less than a month only, which is really more of
      an academic exercise.
             51. We cannot accept the plea of the learned counsel for the
      appellant that the formal arrest on 18.09.2002 of the appellant under the
B     Red Corner notice is the date to be taken into reckoning for serving out
      sentence in the present case or for that matter that the relevant date
      should be 28.03.2003, when the extradition proceeding started. In view
      of what we have said, the only case which could emerge was of taking
      the date when he was given a conditional release on 12.10.2005. Thus,
      if one looks from the perspective of detention of the case in India, the
C     period commences only on his being detained at Portugal on 12.10.2005,
      albeit giving him benefit of a little less than one month.
             52. The factual scenario aforesaid, thus, makes the debate over
      the judgment in Raghbir Singh16 case, Atul Manubhai Parek17 case
      and Najakat Ali Mubarak Ali18 case more academic. Suffice for us to
D     say that the judgment on this issue in Atul Manubhai Parek19 case
      discusses the earlier two opinions in Raghbir Singh20 case and Najakat
      Ali Mubarak Ali21 case to opine that the accused cannot claim a double
      benefit under Section 428 of the Cr.P.C. As already stated, the law would
      have application within the country and does not have anything to do
E     with extra-territorial application where the trial and conviction has taken
      place for a local offence, i.e. Portugal in this case.
             53. Now turning to Allan John Waters22 case relied upon by
      learned counsel for the appellant, the factual scenario is quite different
      from the present case. The petitioner there was arrested pursuant to a
F     Red Corner notice on 02.07.2003 and remained in custody till 06.09.2004.
      In this time period, the extradition process was on. Since the detention
      was in pursuance of a case in India, the benefit of period in detention in
      the USA was given to him. In fact, to that extent we have followed that
      principle in the present case by giving the benefit of detention period qua
      the present case and, thus, treated the date of detention in custody from
G     16
         (supra)
      17
         (supra)
      18
         (supra)
      19
         (supra)
      20
         (supra)
      21
         (supra)
      22
H        (supra)
  ABU SALEM ABDUL KAYYUM ANSARI v. THE STATE OF                                  195
      MAHARASHTRA [SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.]

12.10.2005. We have ignored the formal detention order passed earlier            A
for the reason that the period the appellant was serving out his sentence
in Portugal, in pursuance of a local offence, cannot be a set off against
the detention in the present case. It is also apparent from the fact that on
serving his sentence and getting the benefit of conditional release, his
detention thereafter was in pursuance of the present proceedings on the
                                                                                 B
same date of 12.10.2005.
       Conclusion:
       54. In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, we conclude
that the detention of the appellant commence from 12.10.2005 in the
present case. On the appellant completing 25 years of sentence, the              C
Central Government is bound to advice the President of India for exercise
of his powers under Article 72 of the Constitution, and to release the
appellant in terms of the national commitment as well as the principle
based on comity of courts. In view thereof, the necessary papers be
forwarded within a month of the period of completion of 25 years sentence
of the appellant. In fact, the Government can itself exercise this power         D
in terms of Sections 432 and 433 of the Cr.P.C. and such an exercise
should also take place within the same time period of one month.
       55. The appeals are accordingly disposed of leaving the parties to
bear their own costs.
                                                                                 E

Devika Gujral                                             Appeals disposed of.
(Assisted by : Shevali Monga, LCRA)




                                                                                 F




                                                                                 G




                                                                                 H