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Three-Judge SC bench likely to decide today whether Yakub Memon is to be hanged

by IBNS 29 Jul 2015, 08:57 am

New Delhi, Jul 29 (IBNS) With less than 24 hours left for the scheduled hanging of 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon, a three-member bench of Supreme Court will take up on Wednesday his plea against the death warrant.

The situation makes it uncertain whether the death sentence will be commuted.

Memon's death warrant has already been issued and he is to be executed on July 30 inside the Nagpur Central jail.

The hearing of Memon's case comes after the earlier two-judge bench of Justices AR Dave and Kurian Joseph was divided in its opinion and left it to Chief Justice of India HL Dattu to set up a larger bench .

While Justice AR Dave dismissed his petition, justice Kurien Joseph disagreed, saying Yakub’s curative petition needed to be heard afresh as it was dismissed without following correct procedure and rules laid down by the top court.

“A defect in deciding curative petition needs to be cured otherwise there will be clear violation of right to life of the convict under Article 21 of the Constitution,” justice Joseph said.

, Yakub  also filed a fresh petition challenging the validity of the SC’s July 21 order rejecting his curative petition.

Ahead of his hanging Memon had filed a petition before the Supreme Court stating that a a lower court's death warrant against him was issued before he exhausted all the legal remedies available to him under the law- which is violation of the existing law.

An accountant by profession, Memon also filed a mercy petition before the Maharashtra government immediately after his curative petition was dismissed by the apex court last week.