Yakub Memon hanged: Supreme Court holds first pre-dawn hearing
The unprecedented 90-minute hearing started at 3.20 am and ended a little before dawn on Thursday, barely two hours before Memon was hanged to death in a Nagpur jail.
After Yakub Memon's death warrant was upheld by the Supreme Court and his mercy plea rejected by both President Pranab Mukherjee and Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao on Wednesday, the lawyers of the Mumbai serial blasts convict moved the apex court in a last ditch attempt to save him late in the night.
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The late-night petition by Memon's lawyers forced Chief Justice of India HL Dattu to order the opening of Court Room 4 for an unprecedented 90-minute hearing that started at 3.20 am and ended a little before dawn on Thursday, barely two hours before Memon was hanged to death in a Nagpur jail. Memon's lawyers petitioned him for an urgent hearing to stay the hanging on the ground that 14 days time should be given to death row convict to enable him challenge the rejection and for other purposes.
Opposing Memon's plea, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi contended that it amounts to abusing the system. "A death warrant upheld just 10 hours ago by three judges cannot be quashed," he said, adding that the whole attempt appeared to be to prolong the stay in jail and get the sentenced commuted.
"The stay of death warrant would be a travesty of justice. The plea is dismissed," said Justice Dipak Misra, heading the same three-judge bench that had rejected Memon's plea a day before. As Memon's lawyers Anand Grover and Yug Chowdhury left the court room, they called the order a tragic mistake and said the authorities were hell bent on executing Memon without giving him the right to challenge the rejection of his mercy petition.
Dictating the order, Justice Misra said ample opportunity was granted to the convict after rejection of the first mercy petition by the President on April 11, 2014 which was communicated to him on May 26, 2014. He said the rejection could have been assailed before the Supreme Court.
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Justice Misra observed that ample time was granted after the rejection of the first mercy petition to prepare himself for the last and final meeting with family members and all other purposes. "As a consequence, if we have to stay the death warrant it would be a travesty of justice," the bench said, adding that it does not find any merit in the writ petition.