Yakub Memon

Early history Yakub Memon was born into a Memon family on 30 July 1962 in Mumbai and grew up in the Byculla neighborhood where he attended Antonio D'Souza High School. He completed a master's degree in Commerce at the Burhani College of Commerce and Arts. In 1986, Memon enrolled in the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and completed studies as a chartered accountant in 1990.

In 1991, Memon founded the chartered accountancy firm 'Mehta & Memon Associates' with his childhood friend Chetan Mehta. The following year, they parted ways, and he founded another accountancy firm 'AR & Sons'. Named after his father, it was successful, and Memon won the "Best Chartered Accountant of the Year" award from the Memon community of Mumbai. He also formed the export company 'Tijarath International' to export meat products to the Persian Gulf region and Middle East.

1993 Bombay bombings

Part in the bombings Memon financially assisted his brother Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim in planning and executing the bombings. Memon was captured with a briefcase which contained a recording of a conversation he had in Karachi.

Trial Justice P. D. Kode, in a Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court, found Memon guilty of the following offences on 27 July 2007:

Crime Sentence Criminal conspiracy to carry out terrorist act and disruptive activities, and murder Death Aiding and abetting and facilitating in a terrorist act Life imprisonment Illegal possession and transportation of arms and ammunition Rigorous imprisonment for 14 years Possessing explosives with intent to endanger lives Rigorous imprisonment for 10 years

Subsequent appeals and petitions Memon had filed an appeal before the Supreme Court of India under Section 19 of the TADA Act and State of Maharashtra filed a reference before the court for the confirmation of Memon's death sentence. On 21 March 2013, the Supreme Court confirmed Memon's conviction and death sentence for conspiracy through financing the attacks. The court held that Memon's role was limited not only to the extent of correspondence between the masterminds and all other accused, but he was also entrusted with task of handling the explosive bags and for their safe keeping, which is stated in the confessional statements of various co-accused persons. It also held that Memon was actively involved in hawala transactions for the purpose of facilitating the blasts. The judges called him the "mastermind" and "driving force" behind the bombings. Memon has consistently claimed innocence.

Memon then filed a Review Petition seeking review of Supreme Court's judgment confirming his death sentence. On 30 July 2013, Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice B.S. Chauhan rejected Memon's application for oral hearing and dismissed his review petition by circulation. Memon then filed a Writ Petition before the Supreme Court as the issue of oral hearing of review petitions against death sentences was being heard by the Supreme Court.

On 1 June 2014, Justices J. Khehar and C. Nagappan imposed a stay of execution while a plea from Memon, that review of death penalties should be heard in an open court rather than in chambers, was heard by a constitution bench of the Supreme Court which was then extended in December 2014. On 24 March 2015, open court hearing began on Memon's review petition. Senior Counsel Jaspal Singh represented Memon. On 9 April 2015, Supreme Court dismissed Memon's review petition.

On 30 April 2015, Maharashtra Government issued a death warrant setting 30 July 2015 as the date for Memon's execution. The death sentence given to Yakub Memon has been criticized by a few eminent personalities, including Salman Khan, Research and Analysis Wing officer B. Raman, former Supreme Court judge Justice H. S. Bedi, Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju, Hussain Zaidi, Ram Jethmalani, Asaduddin Owaisi, R. Jagannathan and a few Muslim bodies, who asked for implementation of the Srikrishna Commission report. On 26 July 2015, a petition was handed over by some eminent personalities and political leaders to President Mukherjee to reconsider Memon's mercy plea.

On 28 July 2015, Memon filed a fresh writ petition before the Supreme Court challenging the order passed in the curative petition contending that the required quorum was not present based on the interpretation of the Supreme Court Rules. After the hearing, the two judges disagreed on the issue and passed an order requesting the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to urgently constitute a larger bench. On 29 July, the Supreme Court rejected his petition. Memon also submitted a petition for clemency to Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao and a fresh petition to President Mukherjee, both of which were rejected. As a final resort Memon's lawyers filed a plea for 14-day stay of execution with Supreme Court Chief Justice citing that there needs to be 14-day period between a mercy plea rejected by president and the execution. A three-judge bench convened at 2:30 IST to hear the arguments. After hearing the arguments the bench upheld the execution, rejecting Memon's lawyers arguments. While in prison, he studied at Indira Gandhi National Open University and earned two master's degrees: the first, in 2013, in English literature and the second degree, in 2014, in political science. and he underwent a final medical examination before the execution. A Pune police constable who had previously hanged Ajmal Kasab carried out the execution. He became the 24th person and the first convict in 31 years to be hanged at Nagpur Central Jail since 1947.

His execution set off a debate on capital punishment in India, with many commentators and activists calling for its abolition.

In media Memon was portrayed by actor/director Imtiaz Ali in Anurag Kashyap's film Black Friday.