The mercy petition of Yakub Memon, facing gallows in the 1993 Mumbai blasts, was rejected tonight by President Pranab Mukherjee after government advised him such a course
Earlier, President Pranab Mukherjee sent the fresh mercy petition of 1993 Mumbai-blast accused Yakub Memon - filed today as a last ditch attempt to escape the gallows - to the Home Ministry.
The decision came after Mukherjee held consultations first with Home Minister Rajnath Singh who was later joined by Home Secretary L C Goyal and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar.
The confabulations lasted over two hours after which the President took the decision to reject the petition that was filed by Memon in a last-ditch attempt to escape death tomorrow when he is scheduled to be hanged in Nagpur jail.
Memon, who is scheduled to be hanged to death in Nagpur Jail tomorrow at 7 a.m., sent a fresh clemency plea to the President today.
Sources said the Ministry is likely to advise the President about the legal position as the Supreme Court today refused to stay the execution and Maharashtra Governor also rejected his mercy petition.
President had rejected Yakub’s mercy petition on April 11, 2014 which was communicated to him on May 26, 2014.
A three-judge apex court bench headed by Chief Justice had on July 21 rejected Memon’s curative petition contending that the grounds raised by him for relief did not fall within principles laid down by the Supreme Court in 2002 in deciding curative pleas.
Memon had claimed he was suffering from schizophrenia since 1996 and has remained behind bars for nearly 20 years, much more than a person serving life term has to spend in jail.
12 coordinated blasts had rocked Bombay, as the city was then known, on March 12, 1993, leaving 257 dead and over 700 injured.