After split verdict, larger SC Bench to hear Yakub plea

Chief Justice of India H L Dattu will constitute a new Bench on Wednesday that will hear 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blast convict Yakub Memon’s plea seeking stay of his execution slated for July 30 and quashing of death warrant on the grounds that it was issued even before he could exhaust his legal remedies.

The two Supreme Court Judges Anil R Dave and Kurien Joseph on Tuesday took differing stands on Memon’s plea challenging his death penalty and urged Dattu to set up “an appropriate Bench” to hear the case.

Dattu said “I will constitute a Bench tomorrow (on Wednesday)” as Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi informed the Bench about the split verdict, with common order asking the court registry to place before the chief justice for reference the matter to be listed before an appropriate Bench.

Senior counsel Raju Ramachandran, appearing for Yakub Memon, urged Chief Justice Dattu to grant <g data-gr-id="35">stay</g> of Memon’s execution slated for Thursday. However, the court did not pass any order on its plea for <g data-gr-id="34">stay</g> of execution.

Justice Dave dismissed Memon’s plea recounting the sequence of the court proceedings from 1993 till the curative petition was dismissed on July 21, 2015. But Justice Joseph found fault with the composition of the Bench which heard the curative <g data-gr-id="30">petition,</g> and stayed the operation of the death warrant issued by the TADA court on April 30.

Justice Kurien said the case should be <g data-gr-id="27">re-considered</g> after constituting a Bench in accordance with Supreme Court rules. The judges then referred the matter to Dattu.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court asked Rohatgi to clarify on Wednesday the rules relating to curative petitions, the last judicial remedy in law.

A division Bench comprising Justices Dave and Joseph asked Rohatgi to present before the court the relevant rules and scope of curative petitions before it decides on Memon’s plea seeking a stay on his execution.

Ramachandran said not only the death warrant was issued during the pendency of the curative petition, Memon was also not given an opportunity by the TADA court to explain whether he had exhausted all available legal remedies. He also deprecated the delay in informing Memon about the date of his proposed execution which was conveyed to him on July 13.