SC to hear Yakub Memon's mercy plea tomorrow

The Supreme Court, which took up the mercy plea of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts accused Yakub Abdul Razak Memon today decided to continue hearing the petition tomorrow as well.

Memon, the lone convict facing death row in 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case, has sought a stay on his execution set for 30 July on the ground that he has not exhausted all legal remedies available to him.

The defence team for Memon, who has spent over two decades in jail, also said that the warrant for his execution was issued even while his curative petition was pending consideration by the apex court.

The SC had, on 21 July, rejected Yakub's curative petition saying it was void of merit (See: Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon to be hanged as SC rejects his plea).

Now, we can't go on merits of the case. Nothing is further required as everything has been decided," the SC said.

Yakub had filed a mercy petition before the Maharashtra governor seeking commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment on the same day when the SC dismissed his plea. He also approached the apex court afresh for staying his execution.

The apex court had in its verdict on 21 March 2013 upheld his death sentence while commuting the death sentence of 11 others (of whom one died later) to life imprisonment (Blasts case: Sanjay Dutt gets five years; Yakub Memon to hang).

The court had again, on 9 April, dismissed Yakub's plea for the review of his death sentence, as it had earlier dismissed a similar plea seeking a recall of its March verdict.

Yakub and 11 others were slapped with death penalty by the special TADA court in July 2007 for the dozen explosions that ripped through India's financial capital, killing nearly 260 people and leaving more than 700 injured.

Yakub, a chartered accountant by profession, was found guilty of criminal conspiracy, arranging money for buying vehicles used by the bombers and organising air tickets to Dubai for some of them.

He has for long said that he had no direct participation in planning or executing the bombings.

The apex court has now sought clarification from attorney general on rules for curative petition

If his pleas are dismissed, Memon, who has spent over two decades in jail, will be hanged at the Nagpur Central Jail on 30 July, the day he turns 53.