Supreme Court bench to hear Yakub Memon's last-ditch petition

NEW DELHI: A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court will hear a last-ditch petition at 2.30 AM on Thursday seeking a stay on the hanging of Yakub Memon scheduled in another five hours.

The bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra, Prafulla Chandra Pant and Amitava Roy, which had upheld the death warrant against the 1993 Mumbai blasts convict, will hear the petition at the Supreme Court.

In the fresh plea, lawyers for Memon are likely to argue that the person facing the gallows should be given at least 14 days time after the rejection of his mercy petition as the apex court's guidelines.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Pranab Mukherjee and Maharashtra Governor Vidyasagar Rao had rejected the mercy petitions filed by Memon.