President Pranab Mukherjee has rejected the mercy petition of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, brother of fugitive ‘Tiger’ Memon, whose death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1993 case of Mumbai serial blasts, which had claimed 257 lives. Memon is currently lodged in the Nagpur jail.
The Centre said Memon’s case didn’t qualify for presidential pardon. After the President rejected his plea, the decision was conveyed to the Maharashtra government. The apex court had in March last year confirmed the death sentence, holding Memon guilty of being the “driving spirit” in the serial blasts.
In the same case, it upheld the conviction of actor Sanjay Dutt. He was convicted of illegal possession of a 9-mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle, which was part of a consignment of explosives and weapons smuggled into Mumbai for the blasts.
