File picture of Yakub Memom.
As the Supreme Court's verdict ended Yakub Memon's final hope of stopping his hanging, his lawyer said: "I have exhausted all legal remedies, I hope he will have a dignified death, if that is his fate."
Memon, who was convicted as the "driving spirit" behind the 1993 blasts in Mumbai, the country's worst terror attack, was hanged a little after 6.30 am.
His lawyers had argued that he should be given 14 days after the rejection of his mercy plea, which was filed at 9 pm yesterday. They had argued that the earlier mercy petition, which was rejected last year, was filed by Memon's brother; the one filed on Wednesday was his own.
They also quoted the Maharashtra jail manual to say that a seven-day gap was needed between the rejection of the mercy petition and execution. Memon should be given time to prepare his will, the lawyers argued.
The Supreme Court rejected all these arguments and agreed with the government lawyer, who had asserted that the earlier mercy petition could not be overlooked. The judges said ample opportunity had been given to Memon after his petition was rejected the first time.
"Stay of death warrant would be a travesty of justice. The plea is dismissed," said Justice Dipak Misra, heading a three-judge bench, in an order in Court Room 4 of the Supreme Court, which was opened for an unprecedented hearing that started at 3.20 AM and ended a little before dawn.
Yakub Memon was sentenced to death in 2007 for helping finance the serial blasts in Mumbai in 1993 in which 257 people were killed.