New Delhi: The Supreme Court of Portugal has not turned down the extradition of 1993 Mumbai serial blast accused Abu Salem to India as it has asked the Lisbon High Court to pass a reasoned order taking into account the contention of the accused, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) claimed today (June 19, 2004).

Reacting to news reports from Lisbon, a CBI spokesman said the Supreme Court has set aside the High Court order allowing extradition of the underworld don on "technical grounds" and asked it to pass a reasoned order taking into account the plea of Salem.

Reports quoting Salem's lawyer Joao Nabais yesterday said the Supreme Court has overturned the extradition order. He had said the court found the High Court verdict was "based on insufficient proof" and accepted there was danger of Salem losing his life if he was extradited.

Salem had challenged the High Court order before the Supreme Court on the ground that as he belonged to a minority community in India, he feared maltreatment on being extradited. This was vehemently denied by the CBI before the court.

He had been told by the Lisbon appeals court in February he would be extradited from Portugal, where he is currently serving a four-and-a-half-year jail term for using forged documents and resisting arrest.

Salem is alleged by India to have masterminded a string of blasts that ripped through Mumbai in March 1993, killing 250 people.