Yakub Memon set to be hanged at 7 am in Nagpur Central Jail

MUMBAI | NEW DELHI: Mumbai serial blast convict Yakub Memon would be hanged in the Nagpur jail early on Thursday morning. His fate was sealed after President Pranab Mukherjee rejected his mercy petition based on the advice tendered to him by the Union home ministry.

Home minister Rajnath Singh met Mukherjee late Wednesday evening to convey the government’s decision, after PM Modi, Singh and top officials, including home secretary LC Goyal met at the PM’s residence to advise the President to reject the mercy petition filed earlier in the day.

The petition before the President was filed after a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court rejected Memon’s petition against the death warrant on the ground that it was issued before his curative plea was heard by the court. Following the SC order, the Maharashtra governor too rejected Memon’s mercy petition.

Memon’s wife Rahin left for Nagpur after the developments to have her last conversation with her husband.

His lawyer, meanwhile, said that Memon was yet to make his final will. A section in the state government is of the opinion that Memon’s body should not be handed over to his family, apprehending law and order problem during the funeral.

Sources said no decision was taken on it even late in the evening but top minister said the body would be handed over to the family with the rider that there should be no procession or protest during the funeral.

The Nagpur police has imposed Section 144, which prohibits the assembly of more than 4 people in area, around 500 meters outside the Nagpur jail. The Mumbai police too have deployed security throughout the city. Tempers are already flared after the Sena slammed a few Muslim Congress legislators who petitioned the President pleading for Memon’s hanging to be commuted to life imprisonment. The Sena called them anti-nationals and has moved a breach of privilege notice against five Congress MLAs and two MLCs who signed the petition.

Kashmiri separatist Syed Ali Geelani, meanwhile, said in Srinagar that Memon was being ‘victimised’ because he was a Muslim.

In the Supreme Court, Memon’s lawyer Raju Ramachandran pointed out that the death warrant had been issued prematurely even before his client had not exhausted his legal remedies. A new bench constituted by the Chief Justice of India, comprising Justices Dipak Misra, Prafulla C Pant and Amitava Roy expressed polite disagreement with Justice Kurian Joseph’s views a day ago and said it would not render the court order in the curative void.