Unprecedented hearing of Yakub Memon plea in SC at 3.20 am

NEW DELHI: An unprecedented pre-dawn 90-minute hearing in the Supreme Court which began in Court Room 4 at 3:20 am sealed the fate of Yakub Memon, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, after his final plea to escape the gallows was dismissed. He was hanged to death shortly before 7 am in the Nagpur central jail.

In dramatic develepments post mid-night, a battery of lawyers mounted a last-minute effort to save 53-year-old Memon from the noose when they rushed to the residence of the Chief Justice of India H L Dattu with a petition for an urgent hearing.

The move by Memon's counsels came hours after the rejection of his mercy pleas, first by Maharashtra Governor and then by the President.

They sought stay of the hanging on the ground that 14 days' time is needed to be given to a death row convict to enable him challenge the rejection of his mercy plea.

After due consultations, the CJI constituted a 3-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra, which had yesterday upheld the death warrant and refused to stay its execution.

The lawyers rushed from the CJI's residence to the Tughlak Road residence of Supreme Court judge Deepak Misra and then finally a few kilometers away to the Supreme Court.

The petition was heard by a three-judge bench in court number 4 after security checks at 3.20 am and ended at 4.50 am. The Supreme Court has never before been opened in the wee hours for a hearing.

Memon's lawyers and activists cited a Supreme Court judgement in another case to argue that he can't be hanged for at least 14 days after his mercy plea was rejected.

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

The Supreme Court rejected these arguments, saying ample opportunity had been given to Memon to file his petition after his mercy plea was rejected.