In a reiteration of its earlier order passed on Wednesday, the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a last ditch attempt by 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon to stall his execution by 14 days.
Memon had challenged the >rejection of his mercy petition by the President .
The apex court bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Prafulla C. Pant and Justice Amitava Roy rejected Memon’s plea seeking 14 days’ time before the execution of his death sentence is carried out.
His mercy petition was earlier >rejected by the president on Wednesday, wherein, he raised fresh grounds for clemency — commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment.
The apex court bench, while rejecting Memon’s latest plea, observed that there was nothing new in the new petition as it was a repetition of the same argument that was advanced on Wednesday.
“Same thing was there in yesterday’s (Wednesday) petition. there is nothing new in the new petition,” said Justice Misra in the course of the hearing.
Justice Misra headed the three-judges bench of the Supreme Court which had on Wednesday rejected Memon’s plea seeking stay of his execution and quashing of the death warrant.
In an unprecedented hearing, that is first of its kind in the history of Supreme Court that sat at 3 a.m. on Thursday to hear Memon’s plea, it said that “the petitioner did not raise any question when earlier, the mercy petition by his brother was rejected by the president in 2014”.
Saying that Memon was given “ample opportunity” to present his case before the apex court, the bench said that he was heard for 10 days in the course of the hearing of his review petition while law mandates per half an hour hearing.
“Ample opportunity was given to him to present his case in the hearing of the review petition,” the court said.
1993 blasts: Looking back
On March 12, 1993, 13 blasts ripped through the commercial and social hubs of Mumbai killing 260 and injuring over 700. The bombs were timed and placed to create maximum havoc and create a major rip in the communal fabric of the city and the nation.
>War on Mumbai
The powerful explosions dealt a benumbing blow to the collective consciousness of Mumbai which remains a soft target after facing six major terror attacks in 22 years
>Black Friday: A tale of horror
It has been 22 years since the horrific incident, but 62-year-old Suresh More says he can never forget that Friday afternoon on March 12 when Mumbai got a bloodbath.
>From messenger to mastermind
Yakub Memon would pay for his brother's sins and become the only man to be sentenced to death in the Mumbai blasts case.
Timeline
>The good doctor who saved precious lives
Dr. Jaychand Mandot’s doctor’s eye for details came in handy for the police.
>From 'best' CA to death row detenu
Yakub was once named the best chartered accountant by the Memon community
>Justice or vengeance?
Procedure followed to obtain death warrant for Yakub Memon suffers from serious constitutional flaws
>Yakub Memon and the story of the death penalty
This will be India's third execution since it lifted its informal 8-year moratorium
>40 operations, zero compensation: Why? Asks 1993 blast victim
Kirti Ajmera, injured in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, talked to The Hindu.
>How Mumbai Police got their first clue to Memon family
As Mr. Walishetty recalls, it was the inspection of a suspicious van in Worli that led the police to Yakub’s family.
>Doctors performed non-stop operations as Mumbai queued for blood donation
Two blasts separated by an hour accounted for over hundred lives and injured nearly thrice as much.
>Yakub Memon hanged at Nagpur central prison
Yakub Abdul Razak Memon was executed at Nagpur central prison at around 6.30 am on July 30.