Timeline Refresh
If the plea is accepted, the judge will hear the plea at his residence.
All procedures for hanging Memon has to be cleared 12 hours prior including health check-ups of the person. The Nagpur jail authorities say that Memon is both physically and mentally fit. His lawyer had argued that Memon was a schizophrenic and was ailing and therefore should not be given the death penalty.
Reports say that Yakub will be woken up at 3 am, and after a bath and a health check-up, he will be taken to the hanging yard inside Nagpur jail. The government has earmarked Rs 22 lakh for the hanging, say TV reports.
Yakub's brother Suleiman and cousin Usman are at the Nagpur jail to meet Yakub.
The Supreme Court today rejected the central government's curative petition and the upheld commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment of three convicts in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination case
However, other reports say that the President is still consulting with the MHA about the order and is waiting for inputs. The President's decision on Yakub Memon's mercy plea has to come in by 7 pm
The Nagpur jail, meanwhile, has all arrangements ready to hang Memon.
Memon was convicted as the "driving spirit" behind the blasts that killed at least 257 people at separate landmarks in Mumbai. The case has aroused controversy because police considered Memon's brother, "Tiger" Memon, and mafia don Dawood Ibrahim to be the main masterminds behind the attacks that avenged the destruction of an ancient mosque by Hindu zealots in 1992.
If Yakub Memon hangs tomorrow it be on his birthday. His family had planned to celebrate his birthday at the Nagpur jail.
The Supreme Court said today that it was not inclined to go into the issue of a second mercy plea made by Yakub Memon to the Maharashtra governor. The dismissal of Memon's curative petition by three senior most judges of the apex court was correct, the apex court ruled.
The SC said that it "does not find fault with the issuance of death warrant by TADA court."
On Tuesday, after an hour-long argument on Yakub's petition seeking stay of execution, the two judges on the bench - Justices AR Dave and Kurian Joseph - returned a split verdict. Justice Dave dismissed Yakub's petition while Justice Joseph stayed the execution, leaving Yakub dangling between hope and despair.
The bench then referred the matter to the Chief Justice of India for a fresh hearing by an umpire bench. Justice Joseph requested Justice Dave that the bench should stay the execution till further orders by the new bench, but Justice Dave said, "I will not be a party to such an order."
Chief Justice H L Dattu had entrusted the matter to a bench of Justices Dipak Misra, P C Pant and Amitava Roy.
And that is the order you are reading now.
End of the road for Memon, it seems.
The Mumbai serial blasts convict had filed a fresh mercy petition with the President today. A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court has started hearing the plea of Yakub Memon.
Starting his arguments, Yakub's lawyer R Ramachandran has questioned the validity of the SC bench which heard curative petition.
His lawyer also said that Memon's good conduct in jail should be taken into consideration and the fact that he was suffering from schizophrenia.
On Tuesday, after an hour-long argument on Yakub's petition seeking stay of execution, the two judges on the bench - Justices AR Dave and Kurian Joseph - returned a split verdict. Justice Dave dismissed Yakub's petition while Justice Joseph stayed the execution, leaving Yakub dangling between hope and despair.
The bench then referred the matter to the Chief Justice of India for a fresh hearing by an umpire bench. Justice Joseph requested Justice Dave that the bench should stay the execution till further orders by the new bench, but Justice Dave said, "I will not be a party to such an order."
Chief Justice H L Dattu had entrusted the matter to a bench of Justices Dipak Misra, P C Pant and Amitava Roy.
Since the news of Kalam's death reached the town of nearly 45,000 people, Rameswaram has been in mourning. Large hoardings with images of Dr Kalam have been put up in almost all corners of the town.
Many residents lit lamps, candles and incense sticks to pay homage to the "people's President" who rose from a humble background. Shops and business establishments have been closed as a mark of respect to Kalam, who fondly reminisced about his childhood in Rameswaram in his 2013 autobiography "My Journey".
Pic: People line the streets of Rameswaram waiting for Dr Kalam's cortege to pass through.
Palmer says he thought everything was above board with the lion hunt he paid to go on earlier this month.But the lion that he and his local guides hunted down and killed wasn't just any big cat, according to Zimbabwean officials.It was Cecil, a beloved resident of Hwange National Park and a major tourist draw for Zimbabwe.
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Omar has always functioned more as the spiritual and ideological leader of the movement than as an operational commander.
His inner circle, made up of village mullahs who have known one another for decades, has provided the active leadership of the Taliban's many local factions.
Officials in the presidential palace said Mullah Omar was in custody of the Pakistani security forces in Karachi. Aimal Faizi, spokesman for former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said the issue was shared by the US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan in an interview to BBC said Abdul Kalam was an ordinary scientist. A Q Khan, considered the father of Pakistan's nuclear programme said, "Kalam used to prefer simplicity in all walks of life but he was an ordinary scientist."n a phone interview to BBC, Khan said he could not remember anything noteworthy that Kalam had achieved.
He claimed India's missile programme was developed with Russia's help. The Pakistani scientist also claimed that there was politics involved in the appointment of Abdul Kalam as President in 2002. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister and the NDA was in power at the time. "He (Kalam) was made the President because the BJP wanted to garner Muslim votes," Khan said.
Read Srijan Pal Singh's moving tribute to Dr Kalam.
There has been a trail of communication between Patil's office and MHA regarding her entitlement for a car. "She has been using her personal vehicle for which she gets a fuel allowance as per rules. But she wants an official car when she travels outside Pune. She can either get a car or the fuel allowance, not both," said an official privy to the details.
No, there is no shortage of food despite the thousands that have camped in the small seaside town where India's most loved and respected former president APJ Abdul Kalam will be laid to rest tomorrow.
The reason the restaurants are shut is because the owners and the staff want to queue up to pay their final respects to Dr Kalam as his body is set to arrive soon from Madurai. In fact, as we write this, the ministry of defence tweets this picture showing his body in the chopper. It was only at the fourth halt that our hungry correspondents found a restaurant open for lunch. Will dinner be the same?
That for today and Thursday the town will be known for Avul Pakir Jainalubdin Abdul Kalam is a fair assessment.
Pic: Women and children wait it out under the harsh sun for a last glimpse of Dr Kalam
Read Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian's column in the NYT.
The Mumbai serial blasts convict has filed a fresh mercy petition with the President.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court has started hearing the plea of Yakub Memon.
Starting his arguments, Yakub's lawyer R Ramachandran has questioned the validity of the SC bench which heard curative petition.
His lawyer also said that Memon's good conduct in jail should be taken into consideration and the fact that he was suffering from schizophrenia.
On Tuesday, after an hour-long argument on Yakub's petition seeking stay of execution, the two judges on the bench - Justices AR Dave and Kurian Joseph - returned a split verdict. Justice Dave dismissed Yakub's petition while Justice Joseph stayed the execution, leaving Yakub dangling between hope and despair.
The bench then referred the matter to the Chief Justice of India for a fresh hearing by an umpire bench. Justice Joseph requested Justice Dave that the bench should stay the execution till further orders by the new bench, but Justice Dave said, "I will not be a party to such an order."
Chief Justice H L Dattu had entrusted the matter to a bench of Justices Dipak Misra, P C Pant and Amitava Roy.
Banerjee, who is the UK, is expected to meet various British officials to seek investment for Bengal.
-- Mukhtar Ahmad/Rediff.com
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Sources in Parliament insisted that the meeting was not to "break the deadlock" in the House as it is the duty of the government and not that of the presiding officer.The meeting comes close on the heels of Congress members showing placards in the house despite being warned not to do so.
Click on the picture for a large image.
Penning his tribute to the 'missile man' and who was felicitated with the highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, Modi in his blog, said "Bharat has lost a Ratna".
"Our scientist-President - and one who was genuinely loved and admired across the masses - never measured success by material possessions," he said. "For him, the counterpoint to poverty was the wealth of knowledge, in both its scientific and spiritual manifestations," the Prime Minister said.
He remembered Kalam as one who took little from the world, and gave all he could to the society. "Kalamji refused to be defeated by circumstances. His character, commitment and inspirational vision shine through his life. He was unencumbered by ego; flattery left him cold," Modi said.
Describing him as a "hero" of India's defence, the Prime Minister said his contributions to "our nuclear and space achievements have given India the muscle to be confident of her place in the region and the world." Modi said his profound idealism was secure because it rested on a foundation of realism. Kalam was "equally at ease before an audience of suave, globe-trotting ministers and a class of young students", Modi said.
The district administration of Rameswaram has selected three places for the funeral and would finalise a place after consulting APJM. Maraikayar, elder brother of Dr Kalam and other family members,the Hindu reported.
Three places a government land at Meyyampuli, near Thangachimadam; a
forest land at Natarajapuram near Danushkodi; and a private land of Abil
Kabil Dargah have been shortlisted, the sources said.
Pic: A huge poster in Rameswaram paying tribute to Dr Kalam. Ordinary people as well as politicians have strung up tributes to the former president all through the town. Photograph: Saisuresh SivaswamyRediff.com
The central government last week told the Supreme Court that no mercy could be shown to the killers of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi as it opposed the Tamil Nadu government's move set free seven convicts by granting them remission of sentence.
Opposing the Tamil Nadu government's plea to release the seven convicts, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told the constitution bench of Chief Justice HL Dattu and Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit that "our former prime minister was killed by these people. There was a conspiracy to kill him in which foreign nationals were also involved. What mercy could be shown to them."
Appearing for the other victims of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, Ranjit Kumar stated his stand while opposing the plea by senior counsel Ram Jathmalani appearing for one of the convicts V. Sriharan alias Murugan and Rakesh Dwivedi appearing for the Tamil Nadu government.
The
constitution bench was hearing a reference by three judge bench on the
question whether after the commutation of death sentence into life
imprisonment, could the state government further grant remission of
sentence to release the Rajiv Gandhi assassins.
Kalam's brother's house has been overrun by the media, security men and public. Seating arrangements have been provided, and police hints at VIP movement later in the day. Six chief ministers are expected to pay their respects at Rameswaram, apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha will not be at the funeral, but is sending seven ministers to attend. Several dignitaries are expected to visit the town today to pay homage to Kalam. Rameswaram is under a security cordon, with vehicular traffic restricted. The town is full of boards paying homage to its most illustrious son.
Sanjiv Chaturvedi (pictured) is an Indian Forest Service officer and currently the deputy secretary of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He also served as a Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) at AIIMS during 2012-14.
In 2014, Chaturvedi was relieved from the additional charge of CVO, although he continued to retain the Deputy Director post at AIIMS. He had alleged that his removal from the CVO post was a result of campaign by corrupt officials. There were allegations that BJP leader JP Nadda was acting against Chaturvedi on behalf of Vineet Chaudhary, an IAS officer from his own state, Himachal Pradesh. Chaturvedi initiated actions in around 200 corruption cases during his stint as AIIMS CVO; punishment was imposed in 78 cases, chargesheet was issued in 87 cases and more than 20 cases were referred to CBI for criminal investigation.
Anshu Gupta founded Goonj in in 1999 after leaving his a corporate job to start the organisation. Goonj is a non-governmental organisation based in Delhi, which works in 21 states across India in disaster relief, humanitarian aid and community development. It has converted 1,000 tonnes of used clothes, household goods and other urban discards into usable resources for the poor.
After remaining almost dry and rain deficit for about 20 days in the month of July, heavy Monsoon showers have finally made an entrance in many pockets in the state.
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