The 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon's mercy petition was dismissed on Wednesday with the Supreme Court stating that there was no "legal fallacy" in the procedure followed for issuing the death warrant by the TADA court.
Memon is set to be hanged on July 30, the day he turns 53, with the home ministry reportedly advising the president to reject his fresh mercy plea.
Memon is the only convict to be given the death penalty for the serial blasts which left 257 dead and over 700 injured. Hindustan Times takes a look at how the events unfolded over the years.
Twelve coordinated blasts in several locations had rocked Mumbai on March 12, 1993, leaving 257 people dead and over 700 injured. Yakub Memon, a chartered accountant, was found guilty of criminal conspiracy, arranging money for buying vehicles used by the bombers and organising air tickets to Dubai for some of them.
In 1994, the TADA court shifted from city sessions and civil court to a separate building inside the premises of the Central Jail at Arthur Road. Later the same year, Yakub Memon was arrested for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case with the prosecution claiming that it was a conspiracy against India.
Tiger Memon, Yakub's brother, along with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his brother Anees Ibrahim, are considered to be the key conspirators behind the 1993 blasts. Tiger Memon has been absconding since the blasts and Indian authorities believe he is in Pakistan.
{{/usCountry}}Tiger Memon, Yakub's brother, along with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his brother Anees Ibrahim, are considered to be the key conspirators behind the 1993 blasts. Tiger Memon has been absconding since the blasts and Indian authorities believe he is in Pakistan.
{{/usCountry}}The prosecution had alleged that the Memon family played an active role in the blasts and that their own vehicles were used to plant bombs. Yakub was also accused of distribution of arms and ammunition, detonators and explosives to other accused.
Yakub Memon has been behind bars since 1994, when the CBI purportedly arrested him in Kathmandu. Sources in the Mumbai Police department said he had returned voluntarily. Sentenced to death by a special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) (Tada) court in 2007, Memon has exhausted all legal options in trying to escape the gallows.