NEW DELHI: In a major development, President Pranab Mukherjee has rejected Yakub Memon's mercy plea . The rejection of the mercy petition has cleared the deck for Yakub's hanging, that is scheduled take place on Thursday.

Earlier during the day, President Pranab Mukherjee sent the fresh mercy petition of 1993 Mumbai-blast convict Yakub Memon — filed on Wednesday as a last ditch attempt to escape the gallows — to the home ministry.

READ ALSO: Home ministry likely to advise President to reject Yakub Memon's mercy plea

Memon, who is scheduled to be hanged to death in Nagpur Jail on Thursday at 7am, sent a fresh clemency plea to the President on Wednesday.

READ ALSO: SC dismisses Yakub Memon's plea on death warrant

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the execution and Maharashtra governor also rejected his mercy petition.

READ ALSO: President refers Yakub Memon's mercy plea to MHA after SC dismisses his plea

President had rejected Yakub's mercy petition on April 11, 2014 which was communicated to him on May 26, 2014.

READ ALSO: Hang Yakub, demand kin of blast victims

A three-judge apex court bench headed by Chief Justice had on July 21 rejected Memon's curative petition contending that the grounds raised by him for relief did not fall within principles laid down by the Supreme Court in 2002 in deciding curative pleas.

In Pics: Yakub Memon: All you want to know

Memon had claimed he was suffering from schizophrenia since 1996 and has remained behind bars for nearly 20 years, much more than a person serving life term has to spend in jail.

12 coordinated blasts had rocked Bombay, as the city was then known, on March 12, 1993, leaving 257 dead and over 700 injured.

READ ALSO: No secret pact with Yakub, but we induced him to return, ex-CBI official says

