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.
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