Gangster Abu Salem, who is facing trial in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case in Mumbai, on Monday stated that he was ready to marry a 26-year old woman who had approached a Mumbai court last week seeking permission for marriage. "I humbly request to kindly consider (her application) and grant us permission to register and perform marriage under Special Marriage Act before the registrar," Salem said in his reply, filed on Monday.

The woman had approached the special TADA court last week through her lawyer Farhana Shah. She contended that last year, following a tabloid report that Salem had secretly married her, the police during their probe asked many people about the alleged marriage and also showed a photograph showing Salem with her, which sullied her character. Since she was unable to marry anybody else now, she wanted to marry Salem, she said.

Salem said in his reply that he wanted to marry her so that she could "meet and answer all the relatives, friends and well-wishers with her head up in the society". He intended to "compensate" the woman by accepting her proposal, the reply said.

"I also undertake to (take) care of her in all the respects once she gets married to me and...she will not be further defamed as officially she will be my wife," the gangster's application said.

Salem also apologized to the woman and appreciated her bold move. "I respect the feelings of the woman and also understand her position. I have no intention to cause her further disrepute and disrespect," he said.

Last September, CBI (which probed the Mumbai blasts case) had told the court that the photograph which showed the two together appeared to be a morphed one.

Court had asked police to conduct an inquiry after a tabloid reported that Salem married her "over the phone" during a train journey when he was being taken by police to Lucknow for a court hearing. Salem himself had dubbed the report as baseless.