High commissioner to the UK Ranjan Mathai has, deposing via video-conferencing as a witness before a special TADA court that is conducting the the 1993 serial blasts trial, denied claims made by extradited gangster Abu Salem, an accused in the case.
Mathai was summoned to depose after Salem claimed that, in his capacity as the foreign secretary with the ministry of external affairs, Mathai was present at high-level meetings that were held in 2012 and where it was decided that the additional charges in the various cases against Salem would be dropped.
Mathai will depose further on Tuesday.
He said to the special TADA court that he did not recollect any such meetings and would have to refer to records at this stage.
The defence produced minutes of the two alleged meetings. It claimed that the meetings were held on April 26, 2012, and January 7, 2013.
Salem claimed that in these meetings the government had agreed to the withdrawal of all the charges that had not been mentioned when his extradition was sought from Portugal. His extradition in 2005 had come with riders to protect him from imprisonment for more than 25 years or the death sentence, which Portugal said it had long ago done away with.
Salem said the Indian government had agreed to this pre-conditionat the time of seeking his extradition.
A special court in February convicted Salem of the 1995 murder of builder Pradeep Jain and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
On March 12, 1993, a series of 12 bomb blasts took place one after the other in the city and resulted in the death of 257 persons, injuring another 713 and damaging property worth about Rs 27 crore .
In his final statement in the case, Salem denied that he was involved in the transportation of firearms, ammunition and explosive substances used in the blasts or that he had met Sanjay Dutt and given him arms.