Eminent persons request President to consider Yakub Memon's mercy plea: The Hindu - Mobile edition.pdf

Ads by GoogleNationalEminent persons request President to consider Yakub Memon's mercy pleaUpdated: July 26, 2015 19:30 IST | Special Correspondent A file photo of Yakub Memon. Photo: Special ArrangementA group of eminent jurists, MPs, leaders of political parties and eminent individuals from different walks of lifesubmitted a petition to President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday to request him to consider the mercy plea againstthe execution of the death sentence of Yakub Memon.Accompanying the petition is an extract from an article written by B. Raman, who headed the Pakistan Desk atRAW, as to why Yakub Memon should not be hanged.Among those who endorsed the petition are:Justice Panachand Jain (Retd), Justice H.S. Bedi (Retd), Justice P. B. Sawant (Retd), Justice H. Suresh (Retd),Justice K. P. Siva Subramaniam (Retd), Justice S. N. Bhargava (Retd), Justice K Chandru (Retd), Justice NagmohanDas (Retd), Shatrughan Sinha MP, Mani Shankar Aiyer, MP, Ram Jethmalani, MP, Ahatrughan Sinha (MP), MajeedMemon, MP, Mr. N. Ram, Sitaram Yechury, MP, G.S, CPI(M) D. Raja, MP, CPI, K.T.S Tulsi, MP, H.K. Dua, MP, T. Siva,MP, Prakash Karat, CPI(M), Member, Polit Bureau, Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary, CPI(ML)-Liberation,Brinda Karat, CPI(M), Member, Polit Bureau; various academicians, members of the legal fraternity, activists andfilmmakers and actors like Naseeruddin Shah and Mahesh Bhatt; and Tushar Gandhi.The text of the petition by eminent persons urging Stay Against Imminent Execution of Yakub Abdul RazakMemon:Home National SubscribeMemon:May it Please Your Excellency:This is a mercy petition for Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, who is scheduled to be executed on 30 July 2015 as per theexecution warrant issued by the TADA Court.We, the undersigned, through this petition urge Your Excellency to stay the imminent execution so that thesubstantive and fresh grounds raised herein can be considered on merits.A. Preliminary Grounds*An International Commitment to abolish death penalty We the signatories of this mercy petition humbly makethe statement that in India death penalty cannot be imposed till such time Parliament of India decides not to abolishdeath penalty and the reason for the same are as under:The universal declaration of Human Rights adopted by the General Assembly on 10.12.1948 defined certain humanrights and fundamental freedoms which need to be protected. Among the subsequent human right documents, themost important are the two covenants adopted by the General Assembly in 1966: The Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights and its Optional Protocol and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. India became aparty to both these covenant by ratifying them on 27.3.1979. There are two optional protocols to the covenant, theSecond Protocol aims at the abolition of death penalty.Article VI of Part-III of the covenant on civil and political rights lays down as under:*Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No-one shall be arbitrarilydeprived of his life.*In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the mostserious crime..*Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence amnesty orcommutation of death may be granted in all cases.The President of India under Article 72 of the Constitution of India has the power to grant pardon and to suspend,remit or commute sentence in certain cases. It is in this way the constitution of India permits right of appeal. Sub-clause of Article 6 of Part-III of the Covenant as referred above provides that commutation of sentence of deathmay be granted in all cases. In the circumstance, we will have to understand as to why may has been used forcommutation of the sentence of death to be granted by the President. The Honble Supreme Court of India inDeewan Singh Vs. Rajendra Prasad Ardevi (2007) 10 SC 528 while interpretating may where powers is conferredupon a public authority coupled with direction, the word may which connotes direction should be constitute tomean a command. In India this power of pardon is to be exercised by the President and therefore under nocircumstances for empowering the President the word shall could have been used in the covenant but it means acommand i.e. commutation of sentence of death must be granted in all cases by President, till such time Parliamentof India decides that it will continue the penalty of death sentence. After signing of covenant, the Parliament of Indiahas not considered any amendment in the Indian Penal Code for abolition of death sentence.The second optional protocol to the International covenant on civil and political rights reads as under:The States Parties to the present Protocol,Believing that abolition of the death penalty contributes to enhancement of human dignity and progressiveBelieving that abolition of the death penalty contributes to enhancement of human dignity and progressivedevelopment of human rights,Recalling Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on 10 December 1948, and Article 6 of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted on 16 December 1966,Noting that Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights refers to abolition of the deathpenalty in terms that strongly suggest that abolition is desirable,Convinced that all measures of abolition of the death penalty should be considered as progress in the enjoyment ofthe right to life,Desirous to undertake hereby an international commitment to abolish the death penalty,Have agreed as follows:Article 1:*No one within the jurisdiction of a State Party to the present Protocol shall be executed.*Each State Party shall take all necessary measures to abolish the death penalty within its jurisdiction.Article 2:*No reservation is admissible to the present Protocol, except for a reservation made at the time of ratification oraccession that provides for the application of the death penalty in time of war pursuant to a conviction for a mostserious crime of a military nature committed during wartime.As regards covenant we may submit that a covenant is a treaty and it lays down a notable step forward in theprotection of human rights within the framework of the United Nations and constitutes the basic provisions ofInternational Bill of Rights. The two covenants also demonstrate the way in which the United Nations is overcomingits earlier hesitations about the enforcement of human rights obligations. It is almost an accepted provision of lawthat rules of customary International Law which are not contrary to Municipal Law shall be deemed to beincorporated in the domestic law.The plea of enforceability of various International covenant is now no longer a matter of debate but should beconsidered to be firmly established as a part of international law which the domestic courts are duty bound to giveeffect to.*Present Petition Meets Procedural RequirementsThis Mercy Petition satisfies the legal requirements applicable to a fresh mercy petition as per G. KrishtaGoud v.State of A.P., (1976) 1 SCC 157para10 and clause VII-(A) of the Procedure Regarding Petitions for Mercy in DeathSentence Cases, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.*Death Warrant fixing the date of Execution is IllegalYakub Memon was not given advance notice of the death warrant hearing and as a result of which he and hislawyers could not participate and contest the issuance of the death warrant. Lack of hearing makes the presentdeath warrant void in light of the Supreme Court decision in Shabnam v. Union of India &Ors, Writ Petition (Criminal)No. 88 of 2015 (decided on May 27, 2015).B. Fresh Grounds on MeritsFollowing are some very disturbing aspects of this case which make the award of death sentence of Yakub MemonFollowing are some very disturbing aspects of this case which make the award of death sentence of Yakub Memonas grossly unfair, arbitrary and excessive.*Long Duration of Trial and Incarceration Suffered Till DateYakub Memon has served more than 20 years in prison since his arrest. His trial took 14 years to complete. Whilethe Hon'ble Supreme Court used this long period of incarceration as a mitigating circumstance to commute thedeath sentences of the other 10 co-accused persons, it applied a different yardstick to Yakub. The Hon'ble SupremeCourt has repeatedly held that lengthy incarceration during pendency of appeal in death cases is a significantmitigating circumstance which ought to be considered in determination of sentence. In the interests of justice werequest you to give due importance to this. The government to that extent is not bound by the conclusions arrived atby the Supreme Court (See Shanker v. State of U.P. (1975) 3 SCC 851; Vivian Rodrick v. The State of West Bengal(1971) 1 SCC 468);Kehar Singh v. Union of India(1989) 1 SCC 204para 10.*Yakub Memon is Mentally Unfit for ExecutionYakub Memon has been suffering from schizophrenia for the last 20 years which makes him unfit for execution. Hismental condition has been certified by jail doctors. Schizophrenia as a mental illness has been held by the SupremeCourt (Shatrughan Chauhan v. Union of India, (2014) 3 SCC 1 para 86-87) to render a convict unfit for execution.Your Excellency is required to consider the mental health of a convict before deciding his mercy petition, and cansummon his medical records from the prison from the time of his arrest.*Role in the 1993 Bomb Blasts ConspiracyTiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim as the Main ConspiratorsAs per the case of the prosecution, the 1993 bomb blasts were orchestrated by Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahimto seek revenge for the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya(YakubMemon v. State of Maharashtra, (2013) 13 SCC1 para 148, 1253). Both Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim have been absconding and Yakub, brother of TigerMemon, who was not the main actor in the conspiracy is being executed.Commuted Co-accused played a larger role in the Conspiracy than Yakub Memon: Prejudiced on Account of being TigerMemon's BrotherThe TADA Court convicted 100 persons and awarded death penalty to 11 persons. In appeal, the Supreme Courtcommuted the death sentences of all the convicts except Yakub Memon. In comparison to Yakub Memon, the 10co-accused persons whose death sentences were commuted planted the bombs themselves and played a muchmore critical and direct role in the actual execution of the bomb blast conspiracy. Several of whom even travelled toPakistan for arms training. This shows Yakub Abdul Razak Memon who is facing an imminent execution only onaccount of being Tiger Memon's younger brother.Witness in the caseUnlike the main accused, Yakub Memon surrendered before the authorities, a fact which has been confirmed onJuly 24 by the then officer in charge of the entire operation, Shri B.Raman. Yakub Memon is the person who hasprovided information about Pakistan involvement. His execution will weaken the case against the involvement ofthe Pakistan agencies as there are no other witnesses available.*Death Sentence of Convicts in other Terror Cases CommutedIt is also worthwhile to note that death sentences imposed on the aides of Veerappan (convicted and sentenced todeath under TADA), Rajiv Gandhi killers and Devender Pal Singh Bhullar have been commuted recently by theSupreme Court. While the mercy petitions of Verappan's aides, Rajiv Gandhi's three killers and Devender Pal SinghBhullar were decided belatedly by the President, thereby giving them the claim of delay jurisprudence, the HomeMinistry has moved swiftly to reject Yakub Abdul Razak Memon's mercy's petition. It seems that subjective factorsare the basis of decisions which lead to arbitrary actions.*Death Sentence awarded under TADA which was repealed for being Unfair and DiscriminatoryYakub Memon has been tried and sentenced to death under TADA, a special law which was repealed by theParliament on account of it having been used to target the minorities. The Supreme Court in Vijaykumar BaldevMishra v. State of Maharashtra, (2007) 12 SCC 687para 30 also doubted the legality of prosecutions pursued afterthe repeal of TADA. Given the highly compromised rule of law credentials of TADA, executing Yakub Memon willperpetuate the dark legacy of this law.Final PleaWe most humbly request your Excellency to consider the case of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon and spare him fromthe noose of the death for a crime that was master-minded by someone else to communally divide the country.Grant of mercy in this case will send out a message that while this country will not tolerate acts of terrorism, as anation we are committed to equal application of the power of mercy and values of forgiveness, and justice. Bloodletting and human sacrifice will not make this country a safer place; it will, however, degrade us all.Yours Sincerely,Justice Panachand Jain (Retd) Justice H.S. Bedi (Retd)Justice P. B. Sawant (Retd)Justice H. Suresh (Retd)Justice K. P. Siva Subramaniam (Retd) Justice S. N. Bhargava (Retd)Justice K Chandru (Retd)Justice Nagmohan Das (Retd)Shatrughan Sinha MP Mani Shankar Aiyer, MPRam Jethmalani, MP Majeed Memon, MPSitaram Yechury, MP, G.S, CPI(M) D. Raja, MP, Secretary, CPIK.T.S Tulsi, MPH.K. Dua, MPT. Siva, MPPrakash Karat, CPI(M), Member, Polit BureauDipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary, CPI(ML)-LiberationBrinda Karat, CPI(M), Member, Polit BureauN. Ram, Senior JournalistPrashant Bhushan, Senior LawyerJagmati Sangwan, General Secretary, AIDWAKavita Krishnan, Secretary, AIPWAAnnie Raja, General Secretary, NFIWTushar Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi FoundationM. K. Raina, Film & theatre artistAnand Patwardhan, FilmmakerNaseeruddin Shah, ActorMahesh Bhatt, FilmmakerLalit Vachani, FilmmakerRam RahmanVivan Sundaram, ArtistProf. Prabhat PatnaikProf. C. P. ChandrasekharProf. Utsa PatnaikRitu Diwan, Former Director & Head Dept of Economics, Mumbai UniversityJean DrezePamela Philipose, JournalistAchin VanaikAdv. Flavia Agnes, Director, Majlis Legal Centre, Mumbai.Parthiv ShahProf. Irfan HabibProf. Arjun DevProf. D. N. JhaProf. Kalpana Kannibaran, HyderabadIndira Jaisingh, Former, Addl. Sol. GeneralKirti Singh, Former Member, Law CommissionVrinda Grover, LawyerProf. Abhijit SenDr. Imrana QadirDilip Dsouza, AuthorRavi Chelam, Biologist and Conservationist Scientist, BengaluruProf. Sohini GhoshAssociate Prof. Sabina GadihokeSmita Gupta, economistProf. Jayati GhoshProf. Jagmohan Singh, Coalition Against the Death Penalty, LudhianaShabnam Hashmi, AnhadManisha Sethi, AcademicProf. Ved KumariBiraj PatnaikVirginia SaldanhaProf.Madhu PrashadAnees AzmiRahul SaxenaAnjali ModyDr. Nikita Sood, Oxford UniversityRahul Roy, FilmmakerDr. Ayesha KidwaiProf. Harbans MukhiaAdv. Kamayani Bali MahabalBinoo John (senior journalist, author)Nachiket UdupaN. JayaramProf. Pulin NayakProf. Kamal Mitra ChenoyAngana ChatterjeeDeep JoshiMr. Tarun Bhartiya, ShillongMs. Angela Rangad, ShillongSanjay KarkalaGitanjali PrasadVivek SundaraArundhati Dhuru NAPMSandeep Pandey, Socialist PartyDr John Dayal, Member, National Integration CouncilChetan MaliVidula RamabaiNandini Sundar, Professor, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi UniversitySuroor ManderRammanohar ReddyKiran Bhatty, Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New DelhiLaxmi MurthyAruna Roy, MKSSRev. Kyrsoibor Pyrtuh, ShillongMs. Kalpana Kumar, DelhiAsad Zaidi, WriterDunu Roy, Hazards Centre, New DelhiSohail AkbarMr. Napolean S. Mawphniang, ShillongMs. Gertrude Lamare, , ShillongMs. Janice Pariat, ShillongMs. Angela Rangad, ShillongMr. Tarun Bhartiya, ShillongMs. Mona Mishra, DelhiMr. Aflatoon, Varanasi, Secretary (Organisation), Samajwadi JanparishadMr. Manas Das, BangaloreMs. Amba Kak, DelhiKshetrimayum Onil, ImphalSubrat Kumar Sahu, DelhiDr. Kranti Bhavana, PatnaDr. Kranti Bhavana, PatnaMr. Taru Dalmia, DelhiMr. Apal, JaunpurMr. Mujibur Khan, DelhiMs Kanika Kamra, ChandigarhMs Neelima GoyalMs Brinda Bose, DelhiMr. Hossein Fazeli,Mr. Jatinder Mauhar Singh, ChandigarhHimanshi Rawat, DelhiDhruba J. DuttaAbhinandita MathurRahul Saxena, Bangalore, IndiaMuralidharan, Secretary, National Platform for the Rights of the DisabledGhazala JamilSohail HashmiPrabir PurkayasthaNikhil De, MKSSMichael Noronha, (Mysore)Ovais Sultan KhanAbha BaiyaAshok Chowdhury, AIUFWPBondita Acharya, Jorhat, AssamDr.Rosemary Dzuvichu, Nagaland University, KohimaKalyani Menon-SenGita SenVani SubramaniamSaheli Women's Resource CentreGabriele DietrichNiraj MalikNiraj MalikJaved MalickKiran ShaheenDyuti AilawadiRamlath KavilSupriya MadangarliAmrita ShodhanGeetanjali GangoliHelen SaldanaAlbertina AlmeidaPushpa AchantaKalpana MehtaWSS Women Against Sexual Violence and State RepressionVineeta BalMalini SubramaniamSumi KrishnaRatna AppnenderSujata PatelChayanika ShahSadhna AryaAsmita BasuJohanna LokhandePyoli SwatijaMamta SinghArdhendu SenParijataSakina BahoraJuhi JainMeena SeshuVahida NainarVahida NainarIndira ChakravarthyAnubha RastogiSoma KPAbha BhaiyaRunu ChakrabortyShraddha ChickerurMihira SoodNisha BiswasIlina SenPreetha NairRakhi SehgalShoma SenGreeshma Aruna RaiUma ChandruShals MahajanLABIA Queer Feminist CollectiveSujata GothoskarSandhya GokhaleForum Against Oppression of WomenNikita SonavaneLalita RamdasVeena ShatrughnaAbhi Nandita MathurFreda GuttmanVinod Mubayi, Co-editor, Insaf BulletinT K RaghunathanAbby Lippman, PhD, Professor Emerita, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, CanadaMartin Duckworth, cineasteShrikumar Poddar NRISAHIGeorge Abraham NRISAHIMohammad Imran NRISAHIKasim Sait Progressive Interactions, ChennaiKareem SaitJai SenProf.Praveen JhaA K RamakrishnanGitanjali PrasadRohan Dominic MathewsAmod ShahShreya AgarwalAnamika LahiriRhea JohnKiran BhattyVanita Leah FalcaoAnkita AggarwalAashish GuptaAvantika DhingraRadhika JhaSeema JhaSridhar AFarah Naqvi, Writer and Activist, DelhiRadha Holla BrarVinay KulkarniVeena ShatrugnaR Srivatsan KS JacobRavi DuggalIndira CharkavartiSulakshna NandiAmar JesaniDhruv MankadManisha GupteRenu KhannaSarojiniSaraswathy GanapathyAnant PhadkeChinu SrinivasanYgesh JainDr. Mohan RaoC SathyamalaPallavi GuptaSukla SenVeena JohariAjaya Kumar Singh, Social Activist, Odisha Forum for Social Action, BhubaneswarAmalendu Upadhyaya, Editor, hastakshep.comAnjali Monteiro, MumjbaiAnubha Rastogi, advocate, MumbaiAnuradha Bhasin Jamwal, JamwalApoorvanand, Teacher, DUCapt. Tauseef H. Mukadam, Airline Pilot - Air Asia India, BangaloreDarryl D'Monte, Chairperson, Forum of Environmental Journalists of India (FEJI), MumbaiDevangshu Datta, New DelhiFarah Naqvi, Writer and Activist, DelhiFr. Cedric Prakash sj, Director, PRASHANT, GujaratFrancis Parmar.GujaratG. M. Sheikh, artist, VadodaraGagan Sethi, development professional, GujaratGeeta Seshu, Journalist, Mumbai, MaharashtraGhanshyam Shah, academician, GujaratGitha Hariharan, writer, New DelhiHarsh Kapoor, New DelhiHarsh Mander, social activist, writer, Aman Biradari, New DelhiHussain Indorewala, Asst. Professor, Madhta PradeshIndira Chandrasekhar, publisher, New DelhiK.P. Jayasankar, MumbaiManan Trivedi, Social Activist, GujaratManoranjan Mohanty, New DelhiMitul Baruah, Syracuse University, NYMukul Mangalik, Ramjas College, DUN.D.Jayaprakash, Social Activist, New DelhiNasreen Fazalbhoy, MumbaiNilanjana S Roy, New DelhiNilima Sheikh, artist, VadodaraPriya Pillai , Environmental Activist , Greenpeace India.Radha Khan, Freelance development consultant.Ram Puniyani, writer, MumbaiRohit Chopra, Associate Professor Santa Clara UniversityRupa GulabS.Q.Masood, activist, HyderabadSadanand Menon, ChennaiSanjiv Bhatt, IPS GujaratShankar Singh, MKSS, RajasthanSheba George, Director , SAHR WARU , GujaratVineet Tiwari, Progressive Writers Association, IndoreSwarna Rajagopalan, Researcher, ChennaiIsha Khandelwal, Lawyer, Jagdalpur Legal Aid GroupIsha Khandelwal, Lawyer, Jagdalpur Legal Aid GroupShalini Gera, Lawyer, Jagdalpur Legal Aid GroupNandini Rao, women's rights activist, New DelhiY J Rajendra, GEneral Secretary, PUCL - KarnatakaIrfan Engineer, MumbaiProf Archana PrasadDr. Dinesh AbrolAnnexure: Article written by B. Raman, who headed the Pakistan Desk at RAW, as to why Yakub Memon should not behanged.Memon brothers and the Mumbai blastsI have been going through a moral dilemma in my mind ever since I read in the media about the sentencing ofYakub Memon to death by the court, which tried the accused in the Mumbai blasts of March 1993, and his tantrumsin the court after the death sentence was pronounced.Right though the trial, he has been claiming that he was not arrested in Old Delhi as stated by the prosecution, but inKathmandu, Nepal. This was disputed by the prosecution, which asked for the severest penalty against him andothers, who were sentenced to death. All those sentenced to death have the right of appeal to the higher court andto petition the President of India for clemency if their appeals are rejected.I have been repeatedly asking myself: Should I write this article? Would I be a moral coward if I did not do so? Wouldthe entire case get unravelled if I wrote it? Would the undoubtedly guilty escape punishment as a result of mywriting it? Would my article be adversely viewed by the court? Would I be committing contempt of court? It isimpossible to have definitive answers to these questions. Ultimately, I decided to write this in the belief that it isimportant to prevent a person, who in my view does not deserve to be hanged, from going to the gallows.As the head of the counter-terrorism division of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), I had dealt with theexternal aspects of the investigation between March 1993 and my retirement on August 31, 1994. I like to believethat my work, with the help of some outstanding field officers of R&AW, was highly appreciated by P V NarasimhaRao, the then prime minister, who described our contribution to the investigation of the external aspects as worth itsweight in gold.I was disturbed to notice that some mitigating circumstances in the case of Yakub Memon and some othermembers of the family were probably not brought to the notice of the court by the prosecution and that theprosecution did not suggest to the court that these circumstances should be taken into consideration whiledeciding on the punishment to be awarded to them. In their eagerness to obtain the death penalty, the fact thatthere were mitigating circumstances do not appear to have been highlighted.It was an outstanding piece of investigation by the Mumbai police and the Central Bureau of Investigation, with theexcellent help of the IB. The nation ought to be proud of the officers who handled the investigation and prosecution,for their outstanding success in painstakingly collecting all the relevant evidence and placing before the court awatertight case.The aura surrounding them would have shone even brighter had they taken the initiative in underlining before thecourt that there were some mitigating circumstances and that keeping those circumstances in view, they wouldrefrain from asking for the death penalty even though perpetrators of such barbaric acts of terrorism deserve the2.2k Likedeath penalty.The prosecution was right in saying that Yakub was arrested in Old Delhi. Yakub was right in claiming that he wasnot arrested in Old Delhi. In July 1994, some weeks before my retirement, he was informally picked up inKathmandu, with the help of the Nepal police, driven across Nepal to a town in Indian territory, flown to Delhi by anaircraft of the Aviation Research Centre and formally arrested in Old Delhi by the investigating authorities and takeninto custody for interrogation. The entire operation was coordinated by me.He had come to Kathmandu secretly from Karachi to consult a relative and a lawyer on the advisability of somemembers of the Memon family, including himself, who felt uncomfortable with Pakistan's Inter-ServicesIntelligence, returning to India and surrendering to the Mumbai police. The relative and the lawyer advised himagainst surrender due to a fear that justice might not be done to them. They advised Yakub to go back to Karachi.Before he could board the flight to Karachi, he was picked up by the Nepal police on suspicion, identified and rapidlymoved to India.He cooperated with the investigating agencies and assisted them by persuading some other members of theMemon family to flee from the protection of the ISI in Karachi to Dubai and surrender to the Indian authorities. TheDubai part of the operation was coordinated by a senior officer of the IB, who was then on deputation to the ministryof external affairs. Neither the R&AW nor I had any role in the Dubai part of the operation.The cooperation of Yakub with the investigating agencies after he was picked up informally in Kathmandu and hisrole in persuading some other members of the family to come out of Pakistan and surrender constitute, in my view,a strong mitigating circumstance to be taken into consideration while considering whether the death penalty shouldbe implemented.There is not an iota of doubt about the involvement of Yakub and other members of the family in the conspiracy andtheir cooperation with the ISI till July 1994. In normal circumstances, Yakub would have deserved the death penaltyif one only took into consideration his conduct and role before July 1994.But if one also takes into consideration his conduct and role after he was informally picked up in Kathmandu, thereis a strong case for having second thoughts about the suitability of the death penalty in the subsequent stages ofthe case.B Raman(source: http://www.rediff.com/news/column/exclusive-b-ramans-unpublished-2007-article-why-yakub-memon-must-not-be-hanged/20150723.htm) Related ArticlesSC judge faults Yakubs curative plea hearingDifferent yardstick applied in Yakubs caseDismissal of Memons plea widely hailedSupreme Court rejects Yakub Memons curative petitionSupreme Court rejects Yakub Memons curative petitionYakub Memon moves SC against hangingYakub Memon: From a flourishing CA to a death row detenuShould we lay down the law on mercy pleas, asks SCA case for mercySC dismisses review plea of Yakub MemonMore From The HinduFrom Around The WebHazare sets 2-month deadline for One Rank OnePensionKristen Stewarts mother approves of her newgirlfriendYakub Memon buried in Mumbai Pretty tough copRecommended byGive your rating:Average: 3 stars from 29 ratings

Latest 150 commentsShamlal People who support criminals and terrorists should be chargedinvestigation would prove that these people would be getting benefitssome way4 days ago(0)(0)reply(0) SKvjayan For ten years there was a secular govt. at the centre, quite friendly tothese "eminents". Why did they (including the secular media) notpressurise the UPA govt. to abolish death penalty and release all theinnocent terrorists?4 days ago(1)(0)reply(0) sachinpkUp VotedKPoints55960B. Ram BR9 Successful People Share Their HumbleBeginningsCiti BlogA step that can be taken to stop paying credit cardinterest to the bankNextAdvisorWWE severs ties with Hulk Hogan after racist rantemergestheScore10 Essential Stops For Europe First-TimersBest Travel SiteDeath penalty is a deterrent. indirect and circumstantial evidence is morepowerful than direct evidence against a convict. In fact, what is the Directevidence against Dawood and Tiger Memon, much weaker than Yakub.Even if this two Darinde are given penalty by courts, these so called selfstyled eminent persons/personalities would sign similar mercy petitions,petitions after petitions. Moreover, why these 'BIG' dont agitate againstthe very Death Penalty in the IPC. Why only on Yakub hanging. HangingYakub is imminent.5 days ago(0)(0)reply(0) BRKen Yacoub should be saved from gallows. If its true that he surrendered, thenhis life shouldn't go waste. The authorities should catch the real culprits.Government of India should commute his scentence to life imprisonment.5 days ago(2)(0)reply(0) rimVSureshUp VotedKJ.S.Acharya Acharya I just wonder how come these eminent person are not concerned aboutthe nearly 300 Mumbaikar' death and many maimed ? What are theygoing to tell them,if they ask them about the 'return' of life of their deaddear ones or they handicap? I think the Mumbaikars should take a marchagainst these anti-nationals.5 days ago(1)(0)reply(0) Up VotedJAPoints4885Krish India is a strange country and nowhere in the world, many of them I havevisited, I have seen similar citizens, the so called eminent persons. Andthese great souls never found time to express a word of sympathy for thepeople who died in the horrific bomb blast or their kith and kin who stillsuffer the tragic consequences. And the bleeding hearts weep for aterrorist or their accomplice. Krish.5 days ago(1)(0)reply(0) Up VotedKPoints265Krish I request you with folded hands not to attribute the word EMINENT ORINTELLECTUAL any more to any individual in your reports hereafter andlet the readers decide who is eminent and who is not. Or if you cannot dothat, please enlighten me with the process to be named eminent as I alsoKAdvertisementLoad moreShow morethat, please enlighten me with the process to be named eminent as I alsowould like to be referred as eminent as I do not find many of the peopleyou have referred any better than me. Krish.5 days ago(2)(0)reply(0) kvjayanUp VotedPoints265Talk of the townPolarised opinion over YakubMemons hanging96Readers Editor says Opposition to thedeath penalty has been the statedpolicy of this newspaper38U.S. govt. takes custody of Indian child,arrests father33India, Bangladesh swap borderenclaves, settle old dispute15A right and the reality: Editorial on a14-year-old rape victim's abortion case14This article is closed for comments.Please Email the EditorComments to: [email protected] 2015, The Hindu