ID :
375756
Thu, 07/30/2015 - 12:25
Auther :

Unprecedented Early Morning Court Proceeding Ends With Execution Of Key Figure Of Mumbai Blast

By M. Santhiran NEW DELHI, July 30 (Bernama) -- The key figure of India's worst terrorist attack in 1993, Yakub Memon, was executed Thursday within an hour after the Supreme Court dismissed his final plea for stay following an unprecedented 90-minute early morning court proceeding. The Maharastra government confirmed in a statement that Yakub who turned 54 on Thursday, was executed at 6.43am (Malaysian time 9.15am) at the Nagpur Central Jail. His lawyers told journalists gathered since early Thursday morning that a post-mortem was being carried out at Nagpur Hospital before Yakub's remains would be handed over to his family. In the series of blast in Mumbai in 1993, a total of 257 people were killed and more than 700 injured. Drama unfolded early Thursday morning when Chief Justice H.L. Dattu agreed for the three-man panel to hear his final appeal at about 2.30am after Yakub's lawyers met him at his home, while the prison authorities in Nagpur made the final preparation to hang Yakub which was scheduled for before 7am. The proceeding started at 3.30am and ended about 5am, before the court decided to reject his appeal. Yakub's case received wide media coverage with the legal fraternity and public split over capital punishment, including the late former president, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Late Wednesday night, President Pranab Mukherjee rejected his second mercy plea after being advised by the Home Ministry and government of Maharastra to reject the plea. Yakub's lawyers who rushed to his home had filed a fresh petition Thursday, as a final effort to stop the execution. On Wednesday, a three-man bench dismissed his lawyers' final petition challenging the death warrant and ruled that no fundamental rights of the petitioner had been violated. The apex court also dismissed any violation of procedures, saying the warrant issued by the High Court of Mumbai was valid. The bench agreed with arguments fowarded by Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared on behalf of the Maharastra government, that Yakub already exhausted all his legal remedies. --BERNAMA

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