A group of civil rights activists and Memon's counsel moved the top court with a fresh petition seeking 14 days' time after his mercy plea was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee late in the night.
For the first time in the history of the Supreme Court (SC), a courtroom was opened during midnight. It was to hear the final plea of the 1993 Bombay blasts convict Yakub Memon, a few hours before his execution on Thursday morning.
A group of civil rights activists and Memon's counsel moved the top court with a fresh petition seeking 14 days' time after his mercy plea was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee late in the night.
Courtroom no. 4 was opened at 2 am for the three-judge bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, to hear Memon's plea, after his mercy pleas were rejected by the Maharashtra governor and President Pranab Mukherjee.
Security in the SC complex was tightened for the hearing of the case. Lawyers and media persons were allowed after thorough frisking.
Opening of a courtroom in the midnight is unprecedented as judges hear any urgent matter at their residence after 4 pm. Many times, death row convicts approach the Chief Justice for the stay of execution and the Chief Justice himself can hear the case or mark it to a bench. Generally, such hearings take place at the residence of the seniormost judge of the bench.
The hearing started around 3.15 am after the arrival of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for the state of Maharashtra and the Centre. The hearing went on for about 90 minutes, and, finally, the bench rejected Memon's plea just a few hours before the hanging took place at the Nagpur central jail before 7am.
Memon's lawyer Anand Grover argued that his client can't be hanged for at least 14 days after his mercy plea was rejected.
The counsel also argued that the Maharashtra prison manual says that there must be a seven-day gap between the rejection of a mercy petition and execution, which was not followed.
In September last year, death row convict Surendra Koli in the Nithari case had moved the residence of the Chief Justice and got a stay on the execution, after a hearing, which took place at the judge's residence at 1.30 am.
Countering the arguments, the Attorney General said the provision is applicable in the case of first mercy plea but Memon's mercy petition was rejected by the President in May 2014.
The bench found substance in Rohatgi's submission and rejected Memon's arguments, saying ample opportunity had been given to him to file his petition after the mercy plea was first rejected in 2014.
The high drama, which lasted the whole night, started around 10.30 pm on Wednesday night, soon after news came that both Maharashtra Governor V C Rao as well as President Pranab Mukherjee rejected Memon's mercy plea.
His lawyers immediately rushed to the apex court, with a plea that the death row convict should be given 14 days after the rejection of the mercy petition and sought an order to stay the execution, which was scheduled for Thursday morning.
Due to scarcity of time in their hand, when they failed to get any quick response from the Registrar for hearing, Memon's counsel Anand Grover, Yug Chaudhary, activist-lawyers Prashant Bhushan and Nitya Ramakrishnan moved to the Chief Justice's residence at 5, Krishna Menon Marg.
Chief Justice H L Dattu set up a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra, Prafulla C Pant and Amitav Roy -- the bench which had rejected Memon's plea for quashing the death warrant after a marathon hearing in courtroom no. 4 earlier in the day.
Immediately, the crowd shifted to Justice Misra's residence at Tuglak Road after 12 am, where the lawyers were informed that the bench headed by Justice Misra will take up Memon's plea at 2.30 am in courtroom no. 4 of the SC.
Memon was convicted in 2007 for his role for financing the 1993 Bombay serial blasts. His brother, Tiger Memon, and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who masterminded the blasts, are at large.2
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "sensative")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}