SC judge who rejected Yakub Memon's plea gets threat letter

The judge who led the Supreme Court bench that rejected 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon's last mercy petition against hanging has received a threatening letter.

A Supreme Court judge received an anonymous death threat for rejecting a mercy plea that paved the way for the execution of Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon, officials said on Friday.

Justice Dipak Misra, who received the death threat from unidentified people, was one of the three apex court judges who had turned down Memon’s last-ditch appeal in an unprecedented, pre-dawn hearing before he was executed early on July 30.

Besides Misra, other judges in the panel were justices Prafulla C Pant and Amitava Roy.

Memon’s hanging, opposed by activists and many other people from all walks of life, had led to protests by sections of the Muslim community and also seen thousands attend his funeral as a mark of protest.

“Irrespective of the protection you may avail, we will eliminate you,” reports quoted a letter dropped at Misra’s Delhi residence as saying.

The letter was found on Wednesday near the back entrance of his Tughlak Road residence during routine checking by security personnel, a police official said, adding the threat is of a “very serious nature.”

Special commissioner (law and order) Deepak Mishra visited his residence and did a security audit, police said.

It is believed that those behind the threat letter did a recce of Misra’s residence.

“The suspects knew that security personnel are posted outside justice Misra’s residence and CCTV cameras are installed outside his office. They knew that the back entrance of Misra’s residence has thick cover of trees and cameras can’t capture someone throwing the letter in the compound,” a senior officer said.

Apart from Delhi Police, personnel from central paramilitary force have been posted at his residence.

Yakub, the brother of prime accused Tiger Memon, and 11 others were sentenced to death by a special TADA court in July 2007 for the dozen explosions that ripped through India's financial capital, killing 257 people and leaving more than 700 injured.

The only well-educated member of the Memon family 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.

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