Headlines
SC dismisses Memon's plea, Maharashtra braces for hanging
New Delhi/Mumbai, July 29
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition of 1993 Mumbai bomb
blasts convict Yakub Memon that sought stay on his execution on
Thursday. The BJP and the Congress said the legal process has been
followed, but the AIMIM claimed Memon was being executed due to lack of
"political backing".
The bench of Justice Dipak Mishra, Justice
Prafulla C. Pant and Justice Amitava Roy gave its awaited verdict in the
afternoon, saying "issuance of death warrant cannot be faulted with".
Following the court verdict, Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao rejected Memon's plea for clemency.
However,
Memon, 53, filed a fresh mercy petition before President Pranab
Mukherjee to escape the gallows which has been forwarded to the home
ministry.
The Maharashtra government is gearing up to execute
Memon at 7 a.m. on Thursday at the Nagpur Central Jail following
rejection of his pleas.
The state government has deployed
additional security in and around the jail premises, outside Memon's
residence in Mahim in Mumbai and other sensitive spots across the state
to prevent any adverse fallout.
Pronouncing the court order,
Justice Misra said "we don't find any legal fallacy" with the issuance
of death warrant by the TADA court.
The court order came after a
day-long hearing on the petition by Memon and also a reference by two
judge-bench on the appropriateness of another bench that had heard
Memon's curative petition and rejected it on July 21.
This reference was made following a split verdict between Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice Kurien Joseph on Tuesday.
On
the reference, the court said the curative petition that "was decided
by the three seniormost judges cannot be regarded as void or
inappropriate" in context of the principle that was laid down by this
court in an earlier judgment famously known as the Hurra case.
"Thus,
we disagree with the views expressed by Justice Joseph at this
juncture," the court said, holding that "dismissal of curative petition
by the three seniormost judges has to be regarded to be correct and not
vitiated by any procedural irregularity".
Memon and 11 others
were slapped with the death penalty by the special TADA court in July
2007 for the 13 serial blasts in July 1993 in which 257 people were
killed and 712 were injured.
The apex court on March 21, 2013 had
upheld Memon's death sentence while commuting others to life
imprisonment. One of the convicts died later.
Memon's curative
petition was dismissed on July 21 by the apex court bench of Chief
Justice H.L. Dattu, Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice Anil R. Dave.
Prior
to it, Memon -- the brother of one of the main absconding accused,
Ibrahim alias Tiger Memon -- appealed against the sentence in the Bombay
High Court, the Supreme Court and later filed a mercy petition with the
president, followed by a review petition, and then a second review
petition.
The apex court on March 21, 2013, while upholding the
death sentence, had said his "deeds can't be viewed distinct from the
act of Tiger Memon, hence, both owe an equivalent responsibility for the
blasts".
Prominent citizens and leaders from four political
parties were among around 200 people who on Sunday urged President
Pranab Mukherjee to reconsider the mercy plea.
Those who endorsed
the petition included BJP's Shatrughan Sinha, Congress's Mani Shankar
Aiyer, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D. Raja, actor Naseeruddin Shah,
filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, activist Tushar Gandhi, lawyer Vrinda Grover and
economist Jean Dreze.
The petition asked the president to stay
the imminent execution "so that the substantive and fresh grounds"
raised can be considered on merits.
Reacting to the verdict, BJP
spokesperson Nalin Kohli said: "You have to accept what the Supreme
Court has said and it has upheld the entire process."
Congress
leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said: "We would only think that due
process has been followed and Yakub Memon has been dealt an accordance
of law of this country. Terrorism is terrorism and has to be dealt with
an accordance with law."
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, however,
said it was a "fact that Memon surrendered and was not arrested" and
cooperated with the investigation agencies.