New Delhi: As 1993 Mumbai serial Mumbai bomb blasts convict Yakub Memon yesterday told the Supreme Court that he could not be executed on July 30 as this would be in “flagrant” violation of the court’s earlier directions, the central government strongly opposed it saying that he has already exhausted all the legal and administrative remedies.
A bench of Justice Anil R Dave and Justice Kurian Joseph adjourned the hearing as Justice Joseph raised doubts over the composition of the bench that had rejected Memon’s curative petition on July 21.
Hearing will commence on today when the court would address on the question whether the bench’s composition was as per Supreme Court Rules.
Justice Kurian observed: “You go with a begging bowl only when your legal remedies are over”.
Justice Kurian said “it is inconceivable that three judges who had heard the review petition for ten days were not, except for one (Justice Dave), on the curative bench”.
He cited Order 48, Rule 4 (1) of the Supreme Court Rules which says: “The curative petition shall be first circulated to a Bench of the three senior-most judges and the judges who passed the judgment complained of, if available.”
Noting that of these judges who delivered the March 21, 2013 judgment upholding Memon’s death sentence, two - Justice P Sathasivam (later the chief justice) and Justice B S Chauhan - are now retired, Justice Kurian said: “It is not all the more reason that it (curative petition) should go to the judges who had heard the review petition” in the open court.
Reacting to Rohatgi’s submission, Justice Kurian said: “Curative petitions have gone to seven judges also.” Senior counsel T R Andhyarujuina told the court of an news article by former intelligence agency RAW official B Raman on the understanding under which Memon came to India to face trial.
Ramachandran also said that the execution can’t take place on July 30 as it was “beyond the law and the constitution and in flagrant violation of the direction of this court”, noting that the government obtained the death warrant on April 30 from the TADA court while curative petition was filed on May 12.
Memon was not even informed about the death warrant otherwise he could have told the TADA judge of his intention of moving a curative petition, he said.
IANS
