NAGPUR: Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, 53, the only person to be sentenced to death for the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts that killed 257 innocent people, was hanged at Nagpur’s Central Jail between 6.30 and 7 a.m. on Thursday.

After being incarcerated for over 21 years, Yakub Memon was executed on his 54th birthday, having exhausted all the legal remedies available to him.

Jail officials announced the hanging, while doctors confirmed that Memon was dead. Reports said his body would be taken to Mumbai at 12.30 pm and handed over to his family. His funeral would take place at the Marine Lines cemetery. The authorities have stipulated that there will be no parading of the body s it could spark off a law and order situation.

Earlier, Yakub Memon was declared fit to hanged by the jailor of Nagpur Central Jail. Rs 22 lakh were sanctioned for the hanging.

Unprecedented SC hearing at 3.00 am

In an unprecedented hearing held at the Supreme Court at 3.18 a.m. on Thursday, the court rejected 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon's plea seeking postponement of his hanging by 14 days.

The apex court bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Prafulla C. Pant and Justice Amitava Roy post-midnight rejected Memon's plea seeking 14 days' time, finally at 5.00 am, before the execution of his death sentence is carried out.

The court said that "the petitioner did not raise any question when earlier, the mercy petition by his brother was rejected by the president in 2014".

The apex court bench, while rejecting Memon's latest plea, observed that there was nothing new in the new petition as it was a repetition of the same argument that was advanced on Wednesday.

"Same thing was there in yesterday's (Wednesday) petition. There is nothing new in the new petition," said Justice Misra in the course of the hearing.

Saying that Memon was given "ample opportunity" to present his case before the apex court, the bench said that he was heard for 10 days in the course of the hearing of his review petition while law mandates per half an hour hearing.

Even as the President rejected the mercy plea, Memon's counsel and activists, including senior lawyers, including Indira Jaising and Prashant Bhushan, in a last-ditch effort approached Chief Justice of India H L Dattu with a petition seeking stay of 1993 Mumbai blast convict Yakub Memon's execution for 14 days, so that the death row inmate can meet his family members.

Heavy security in Nagpur, Mumbai

Security had been beefed up in the state of Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai and Nagpur, to thwart and control any untoward incident or law and order problem that may arise following the hanging of Memon.

Section 144 was imposed around the Nagpur Central Jail, with heavy security arrangements in and outside the prison. Security was also increased in Mumbai’s Mahim area, where the Memons live.

SC, President reject mercy plea

Earlier, on Wednesday, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court rejected Yakub Memon's plea seeking a reconsideration of his death sentence, paving the way for his execution.

Late on Wednesday, President Pranab Mukherjee too rejected the clemency petition moved by Memon, following the advice of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh was closeted with the President for over 2 hours to convey the government's view that the mercy petition be rejected.

No legal fallacy, says Supreme Court

Earlier, rejecting Memon’s plea, the Supreme Court ruled that there was no lapse in the curative petition.

"Issuance of death warrant cannot be faulted with," said the apex court bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra, while rejecting Memon's plea.

Pronouncing the order, Justice Misra said, "we don't find any legal fallacy" with the issuance of death warrant by the TADA court on April 30.

The court order came after a daylong hearing on the petition by Memon and also a reference by two judge-bench on the appropriateness of another bench that had heard Memon's curative petition and rejected it on July 21, 2015.

Just hours before Memon was due to be hanged in Nagpur jail on Thursday, his 54th birthday, the Supreme Court rejected his last-minute petition.

Senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam said, "The Supreme Court has rejected all the contentions raised by Yakub Memon. The Maharashtra Governor and the President will have to take the decision on the mercy petition today itself."

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