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| Yakub Memon: Court defers plea by Mumbai bomb plotter | Yakub Memon: Court defers plea by Mumbai bomb plotter |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| India's top court referred a final plea by Yakub Memon to suspend his execution over his role in the 1993 Mumbai bombings, to a larger bench of judges. | India's top court referred a final plea by Yakub Memon to suspend his execution over his role in the 1993 Mumbai bombings, to a larger bench of judges. |
| Memon says the authorities did not follow proper legal procedures in issuing the warrant for his death. | Memon says the authorities did not follow proper legal procedures in issuing the warrant for his death. |
| A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court has now differed on whether his plea should be accepted. | A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court has now differed on whether his plea should be accepted. |
| The serial blasts killed 257 people and were allegedly to avenge the killing of Muslims in riots a few months earlier. | The serial blasts killed 257 people and were allegedly to avenge the killing of Muslims in riots a few months earlier. |
| Another 713 were wounded in the bomb blasts in India's financial capital, then called Bombay. | Another 713 were wounded in the bomb blasts in India's financial capital, then called Bombay. |
| Last week, the Supreme Court had rejected a plea for mercy, paving the way for Memon's execution on Thursday 30 July. | |
| Memon then made a last-ditch appeal to the court to suspend his execution, saying the authorities had not followed legal procedures in issuing the warrant for his death. | |
| On Tuesday, judges AR Dave and Kurian Joseph differed on whether the death warrant should be suspended and the matter was referred to a larger bench of judges. | On Tuesday, judges AR Dave and Kurian Joseph differed on whether the death warrant should be suspended and the matter was referred to a larger bench of judges. |
| The new development comes days after a chorus of protest asking for the suspension of Memon's death sentence. | The new development comes days after a chorus of protest asking for the suspension of Memon's death sentence. |
| Politicians, social activists, journalists and lawyers had urged President Pranab Mukherjee to commute the sentence and "spare him from the noose of the death for a crime that was master-minded by someone else to communally divide India". | Politicians, social activists, journalists and lawyers had urged President Pranab Mukherjee to commute the sentence and "spare him from the noose of the death for a crime that was master-minded by someone else to communally divide India". |
| Bollywood star Salman Khan also tweeted supporting Memon, but deleted his tweets later. | Bollywood star Salman Khan also tweeted supporting Memon, but deleted his tweets later. |
| Memon's brother, Tiger Memon, is believed to have played an instrumental role in carrying out the attacks. | Memon's brother, Tiger Memon, is believed to have played an instrumental role in carrying out the attacks. |
| India rarely sentences people to death - and even more rarely carries out executions. There have been three since 1995. | India rarely sentences people to death - and even more rarely carries out executions. There have been three since 1995. |
| If the top court rejects Memon's appeal, he will be the first to be executed since a Kashmiri man, Afzal Guru, was hanged in 2013 for the 2001 attack on parliament. | If the top court rejects Memon's appeal, he will be the first to be executed since a Kashmiri man, Afzal Guru, was hanged in 2013 for the 2001 attack on parliament. |
| Memon, a chartered accountant, was sentenced to death in 2007 by a special court in Mumbai, which found he played a key role in the bombing conspiracy. | Memon, a chartered accountant, was sentenced to death in 2007 by a special court in Mumbai, which found he played a key role in the bombing conspiracy. |
| He is being held in a prison in the western city of Nagpur. | He is being held in a prison in the western city of Nagpur. |