The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of Yakub Memon, a death-row convict in the 1993 Bombay serial blasts case.
The court has tagged Yakub’s petition — seeking a stay on his execution — with pending cases and referred it to a constitution bench, which will decide whether the review petition should be heard in an open court.
The Supreme Court Monday issued notice to the centre on a petition by 1993 Mumbai bomb blast accused Yakub Abdul Razak Memon challenging the apex court’s rules guiding its review of a death sentence.
The apex court bench of Justice J.S. Kehar and Justice C. Nagappan also suspended the execution of death sentence of Memon.
Memon’s mercy plea was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee last week.
The court, while issuing the notice and suspending execution of the death sentence, tagged Memon’s plea with an earlier petition challenging the Supreme Court’s rules by which review in a death sentence can be decided by circulation amongst the judges.
The Supreme Court March 21, 2013, upheld the death sentence awarded to Memon by the special TADA court and confirmed by the Bombay High Court.