SC rejects Memon's last-minute plea to stall execution

Updated

New Delhi, Jul 30 (IANS): In a reiteration of its earlier order passed on Wednesday, the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a last ditch attempt by 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon to stall his execution by 14 days.

Memon had challenged the rejection of his mercy petition by the president.

The apex court bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Prafulla C. Pant and Justice Amitava Roy rejected Memon's plea seeking 14 days' time before the execution of his death sentence is carried out.

His mercy petition was earlier rejected by the president on Wednesday, wherein, he raised fresh grounds for clemency -- commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment.

The apex court bench, while rejecting Memon's latest plea, observed that there was nothing new in the new petition as it was a repetition of the same argument that was advanced on Wednesday.

"Same thing was there in yesterday's (Wednesday) petition. There is nothing new in the new petition," said Justice Misra in the course of the hearing.

Justice Misra headed the three-judges bench of the Supreme Court which had on Wednesday rejected Memon's plea seeking stay of his execution and quashing of the death warrant.

In an unprecedented hearing, that is first of its kind in the history of Supreme Court that sat at 3 a.m. on Thursday to hear Memon's plea, it said that "the petitioner did not raise any question when earlier, the mercy petition by his brother was rejected by the president in 2014".

Saying that Memon was given "ample opportunity" to present his case before the apex court, the bench said that he was heard for 10 days in the course of the hearing of his review petition while law mandates per half an hour hearing.

"Ample opportunity was given to him to present his case in the hearing of the review petition," the court said.

Addressing the court, senior counsel Anand Grover said that Memon should get 14 days' time after the rejection of his mercy petition, which was a matter of right given by the court in the well-known Shatrughan Chauhan case.

The court was told that Memon wanted to challenged the president's decision to reject his mercy petition in which he has raised fresh grounds including his mental health related to his schizophrenia.

Grover said that his client did not even get time to execute his will.

Contesting Memon's plea, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that this way there would be a mercy petition every day and repeated mercy petition was bad for the system.

Contending that Memon has exhausted all the legal avenues, the attorney general said that the mercy petition should have been filed before the issuance of the death warrant.

Earlier Update

Unprecedented: For Yakub's final plea, hearing in Supreme Court at 2:30 am

Updated

New Delhi, Jul 30 (NDTV): Past midnight on Thursday, a group of activists and lawyers stood outside the home of Chief Justice of India HL Dattu in the heart of the capital.

They then moved to the Tughlak Road residence of Supreme Court judge Deepak Mishra and waited for court to convene at 2 am, when a three-judge bench would hear a final plea against the execution of Yakub Memon for his role in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. The hearing has been now moved to the Supreme Court.

On Wednesday evening, President Pranab Mukherjee rejected Memon's mercy petition, that he had received earlier in the day. But with only a few hours to 7 am, the scheduled time for the execution, there was still uncertainty over whether Yakub Memon would hang on Thursday in the jail in Nagpur, Maharashtra, where he is lodged.

The lawyers and activists gathered for the night court - first at Justice Dattu's residence and then at Justice Mishra's after the Chief Justice asked him and two other judges to hear Memon's plea - have cited a Supreme Court judgement in another case to argue that Memon can't be hanged for at least 14 days after his mercy plea was rejected.

They are also set to argue that a Maharashtra prison manual, which says that there must be a seven-day gap between the rejection of a mercy petition and execution, has not been followed.

The 14-day gap was brought up briefly in the Supreme Court today when it was hearing a petition by Yakub Memon against his execution. The Supreme Court rejected the petition today, refusing to stop Memon's hanging.

The government argued in court that the 14-day rule applies only to the first time that a mercy plea is made. They point out that President Mukherjee had rejected a plea for clemency by Yakub, filed by his brother last year.

The same three judges who rejected Yakub Memon's petition this morning, will hear his final plea.

Memon was convicted in 2007 for his role for financing the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. His brother, Tiger, and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who masterminded the blasts, are missing.

Earlier Update

President rejects Yakub Memon's mercy petition

New Delhi, Jul 29 (IANS): Closing the last avenue of respite for 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts convict Yakub Memon, President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday rejected his mercy plea, sources said.

They said that Memon, whose petition to stay his execution on Thursday was dismissed by the Supreme Court, had filed a fresh mercy petition before the president to escape the gallows. The president took the decision on recommendations of the home ministry.

After hectic consultations on the issue late on Wednesday evening, the home ministry decided to recommend rejection of his mercy plea and Home Minister Rajnath Singh went to Rashtrapati Bhavan to convey the government's decision to Mukherjee.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court dismissed his petition that sought a stay on his execution and the quashing of death warrants issued on April 30 and said he had availed all the judicial remedies by way of two review petitions, a curative petition and a mercy petition which was moved by his brother in 2013 and rejected by the president in 2014.

Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao also rejected Memon's plea for clemency on Wednesday.

Earlier report

Supreme Court upholds death warrant against Yakub Memon

New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI): Yakub Memon, facing gallows in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, is all set to be executed tomorrow with the Supreme Court today clearing all legal hurdles by holding that there was "no legal falacy" and "fault" in the death warrant issued against him.

Yet-another last-ditch attempt by the lone convict in the blasts case that killed over 257 people and hundreds injured by filing a mercy plea before the President is also likely to fail with the Home Ministry set to recommend its rejection.

In Mumbai, Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao also rejected his mercy plea that was filed last week.

Ending the suspense and uncertainity over the fate of Memon, who was held guilty in the terror case, the apex court said his last legal remedy by way of curative petition was "correctly" dismissed by the three senior-most judges.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra held that his second mery petition will not come in way of his execution tomorrow when he turns 53 as he did not challenge the rejection of his first mercy petition by the President last year.

While clearing the decks by holding that the condemned prisoner has availed all legal remdies, the bench, also comprising Justices Prafulla Chandra Pant and Amitava Roy, rejected the plea that proper procedure was not followed in issuance of death warrant by TADA Court on April 30 for his execution on July 30.

Further, the bench differed with his counsel that mandatory 14 days notice was not given by Maharashtra Government in communicating to him about his date of execution.

"Issuance of death warrant is in order. We do not find any kind of legal fallacy. In view of that, we conclude that the curative petition was decided by three senior-most judges of this court cannot be faulted.

The issue of death warrant by TADA court on April 30 for the execution of death sentence on July 30 cannot be faulted. In the result writ petition sans merit and stands dismissed," the bench said after a day-long hearing.

While rejecting the contention that the death warrant was wrongly issued and without hearing Memon, the bench noted the sequence of event to demonstrate that he did not challenged the rejection of his first mercy petition by the President.

"After first mercy petition was rejected, he did not challenge it. On July 22, 2015, he filed another mercy petition. Whether he was entitled for such second mercy petition or not during the pendency of the curative petition.

"How the mercy petition has to be dealt we are not inclined to go," the bench said.

"As far as compliance of 14 days for execution of warrant from scheduled date of execution is concerned, it meets the time limit," the bench said while accepting the submission of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who said Memon did not take legal remedies of curative petition when his first review petition was dismissed.

The condemned prisoner did not move the apex court even when the President had rejected his mercy petition on April 4, 2014 which was communicated to him on May 26, 2014.

While maintaining that a convict after his conviction can at any stage make representation to constitutional authority like Governor and President for pardon and remission of sentence, the bench said the mercy petition on behalf of Memon was moved to the President of which he had knowledge.

"In the instant case, Suleman, brother of the convict, on his behalf, submitted a mercy petition to the Governor which was later decided by President on April 11, 2014 and communicated to Memon on May 26, 2014," the bench noted.

It said it was not going into the second mercy plea in which grounds of him suffering from schizophrenia have been raised along with the fact that new evidence in the light of an article by a RAW officer has been taken for grant of leniency which was disputed by the Attorney General.

The bench noted the sequence of events since the rejection of the second review petition on April 9, to the dismissal of the curative petition on July 21, 2015.

Memon's senior counsel Raju Ramachandra submitted that there was a procedural violation in the issuance of death warrant on April 30 by a TADA judge in Mumbai for his execution on July 30.

They said that the death warrant was issued while the curative petition was yet to be filed.

Further, while the TADA court had granted 90 days notice for his execution, Memon was served with the notice about his execution on July 13 by the Maharashtra government giving him just 17 days time before his execution, which suffers from incurable procedural irregularity, Ramachandran said.

The counsel for Memon also submitted that the second mercy petition to the Governor was filed on July 22 and until it is decided, the death warrant cannot be executed.

While holding that there was no legal fault in the TADA Court issuing the death warrant, the bench said the May 27, 2015 judgement in the Shabnam case, laying the guidelines for it, was not applicable with retrospective effect as the warrant was issued before the verdict.

Memon's lawyer had contended that non-application of the guidlines was in violation of Article 21 of the constitution.

However, the bench said the "postulations laid in the Shabnam case held that sufficient notice has to be given to the convict before issuance of death warrant so as to enable him to consult his advocate.

"That being the purpose, it has to be seen in the proper perspective of the case," it said and added the state government informed him about the execution on July 13 and the curative petition was filed on May 22 and therefore, "he cannot take the plea that he did not had the legal remedies."

Noting that the curative petition was dismissed on July 21, the bench said "in our view the purpose behind the said mandate has been complied in the case."