Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Excerpts Of The Petition : Difference Vanishes In Appeal Of Mercy For Yakub Memon

Excerpts Of The Petition : Difference Vanishes In Appeal Of Mercy For Yakub Memon


Excerpts Of The Petition : Difference Vanishes  In Appeal Of  Mercy  For Yakub Memon
Excerpts Of The Petition : Difference Vanishes In Appeal Of Mercy For Yakub Memon
NEW DELHI:Almost 300 prominent citizens including several prominent political leaders including the ruling BJP, eminent jurists, journalists, social activist and film personalities  are signatory of the mercy petition filed to President of India against the execution of Yakub Memon, the convict of the Bombay terror attacks of 1993.
Those who appealed to stay the execution of Yakub Memon are from every section of Indian society as well as leaders from all the political parties who came forward cutting the party barriers.
Eminent leaders who figures in this mercy appeal includes MPs from  BJP Shatrughan Sinha,  Congress Mani Shankar Aiyer, Ram Jethmalani, Majeed Memon, Sitaram Yechury , D. Raja,  K.T.S Tulsi,  H.K. Dua, T. Siva, Prakash Karat, Polit Bureaumember of CPM Dipankar Bhattacharya,  Brinda Karat, Retd.  Justice Panachand Jain , H.S. Bedi, P. B. Sawant,  H. Suresh , K. P. Siva Subramaniam , S. N. Bhargava ,  K Chandru , Nagmohan Das , filmmakers and actors like Naseeruddin Shah and Mahesh Bhatt and Tushar Gandhi and several other important personalities of different sect of Indian society.
The full text of the petition and  list of its signatory is below–
His Excellency,
The Hon’ble President of India
Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi
Subject: New Mercy Petition Urging Stay Against Imminent Execution of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon
May it Please Your Excellency:
This is a mercy petition for Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, who is scheduled to be executed on 30 July 2015 as per the execution warrant issued by the TADA Court.
We, the undersigned, through this petition urge Your Excellency to stay the imminent execution so that the substantive and fresh grounds raised herein can be considered on merits.
A. Preliminary Grounds
— An International Commitment to abolish death penalty – We the signatories of this mercy petition humbly make the statement that in India death penalty cannot be imposed till such time Parliament of India decides not to abolish death penalty and the reason for the same are as under:
The universal declaration of Human Rights adopted by the General Assembly on 10.12.1948 defined certain human rights and fundamental freedoms which need to be protected. Among the subsequent human right documents, the most important are the two covenants adopted by the General Assembly in 1966: The Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Optional Protocol and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. India became a party to both these covenant by ratifying them on 27.3.1979. There are two optional protocols to the covenant, the Second Protocol aims at the abolition of death penalty.
Article VI of Part-III of the covenant on civil and political rights lays down as under:
-Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No-one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.
– In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crime.
– Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence amnesty or commutation of death may be granted in all cases.
The President of India under Article 72 of the Constitution of India has the power to grant pardon and to suspend, remit or commute sentence in certain cases. It is in this way the constitution of India permits right of appeal. … …In India this power of pardon is to be exercised by the President and therefore under no circumstances for empowering the President the word “shall” could have been used in the covenant but it means a command i.e. commutation of sentence of death must be granted in all cases by President, till such time Parliament of India decides that it will continue the penalty of death sentence. After signing of covenant, the Parliament of India has not considered any amendment in the Indian Penal Code for abolition of death sentence.
The second optional protocol to the International covenant on civil and political rights reads as under:
Convinced that all measures of abolition of the death penalty should be considered as progress in the enjoyment of the right to life,
Desirous to undertake hereby an international commitment to abolish the death penalty,
No reservation is admissible to the present Protocol, except for a reservation made at the time of ratification or accession that provides for the application of the death penalty in time of war pursuant to a conviction for a most serious crime of a military nature committed during wartime.
As regards covenant we may submit that a covenant is a treaty and it lays down a notable step forward in the protection of human rights within the framework of the United Nations and constitutes the basic provisions of International Bill of Rights…. but should be considered to be firmly established as a part of international law which the domestic courts are duty bound to give effect to.
2. Present Petition Meets Procedural Requirements
This Mercy Petition satisfies the legal requirements applicable to a fresh mercy petition as per G. KrishtaGoud v. State of A.P., (1976) 1 SCC 157para10 and clause VII-(A) of the Procedure Regarding Petitions for Mercy in Death Sentence Cases, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
3. Death Warrant fixing the date of Execution is Illegal
Yakub Memon was not given advance notice of the death warrant hearing and as a result of which he and his lawyers could not participate and contest the issuance of the death warrant. Lack of hearing makes the present death warrant void in light of the Supreme Court decision in Shabnam v. Union of India &Ors, Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 88 of 2015 (decided on May 27, 2015).
B. Fresh Grounds on Merits
Following are some very disturbing aspects of this case which make the award of death sentence of Yakub Memon as grossly unfair, arbitrary and excessive.
1. Long Duration of Trial and Incarceration Suffered Till Date
Yakub Memon has served more than 20 years in prison since his arrest. His trial took 14 years to complete. While the  Supreme Court used this long period of incarceration as a mitigating circumstance to commute the death sentences of the other 10 co-accused persons, it applied a different yardstick to Yakub. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has repeatedly held that lengthy incarceration during pendency of appeal in death cases is a significant mitigating circumstance which ought to be considered in determination of sentence. In the interests of justice we request you to give due importance to this.
2. Yakub Memon is Mentally Unfit for Execution
Yakub Memon has been suffering from schizophrenia for the last 20 years which makes him unfit for execution. His mental condition has been certified by jail doctors. Schizophrenia as a mental illness …. Your Excellency is required to consider the mental health of a convict before deciding his mercy petition, and can summon his medical records from the prison from the time of his arrest.
3. Role in the 1993 Bomb Blasts Conspiracy
Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim as the Main Conspirators
As per the case of the prosecution, the 1993 bomb blasts were orchestrated by Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim to seek revenge for the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya……Both Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim have been absconding and Yakub, brother of Tiger Memon, who was not the main actor in the conspiracy is being executed.
Commuted Co-accused played a larger role in the Conspiracy than Yakub Memon: Prejudiced on Account of being Tiger Memon’s Brother
The TADA Court convicted 100 persons and awarded death penalty to 11 persons. In appeal, the Supreme Court commuted the death sentences of all the convicts except Yakub Memon.
In comparison to Yakub Memon, the 10 co-accused persons whose death sentences were commuted planted the bombs themselves and played a much more critical and direct role in the actual execution of the bomb blast conspiracy. Several of whom even travelled to Pakistan for arms training. This shows Yakub Abdul Razak Memon who is facing an imminent execution only on account of being Tiger Memon’s younger brother.
Witness in the case
Unlike the main accused, Yakub Memon surrendered before the authorities, a fact which has been confirmed on July 24 by the then officer in charge of the entire operation, Shri B.Raman. Yakub Memon is the person who has provided information about Pakistan involvement. His execution will weaken the case against the involvement of the Pakistan agencies as there are no other witnesses available.
4. Death Sentence of Convicts in other Terror Cases Commuted
It is also worthwhile to note that death sentences imposed on the aides of Veerappan (convicted and sentenced to death under TADA), Rajiv Gandhi killers and Devender Pal Singh Bhullar have been commuted recently by the Supreme Court. While the mercy petitions of Verappan’s aides, Rajiv Gandhi’s three killers and Devender Pal Singh Bhullar were decided belatedly by the President, thereby giving them the claim of delay jurisprudence, the Home Ministry has moved swiftly to reject Yakub Abdul Razak Memon’s mercy’s petition. It seems that subjective factors are the basis of decisions which lead to arbitrary actions.
5. Death Sentence of TADA is Unfair and Discriminatory
Yakub Memon has been tried and sentenced to death under TADA, a special law which was repealed by the Parliament on account of it having been used to target the minorities. .
Final Plea
We most humbly request your Excellency to consider the case of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon and spare him from the noose of the death for a crime that was master-minded by someone else to communally divide the country. Grant of mercy in this case will send out a message that while this country will not tolerate acts of terrorism, as a nation we are committed to equal application of the power of mercy and values of
forgiveness, and justice. Blood letting and human sacrifice will not make this country a safer place; it will, however, degrade us all.
Yours Sincerely,
Justice Panachand Jain (Retd) Justice H.S. Bedi (Retd)
Justice P. B. Sawant (Retd) Justice H. Suresh (Retd)
Justice K. P. Siva Subramaniam (Retd) Justice S. N. Bhargava (Retd)
Justice K Chandru (Retd) Justice Nagmohan Das (Retd)
Shatrughan Sinha MP Mani Shankar Aiyer, MP
Ram Jethmalani, MP Majeed Memon, MP
Sitaram Yechury, MP, G.S, CPI(M) D. Raja, MP, Secretary, CPI
K.T.S Tulsi, MP H.K. Dua, MP
T. Siva, MP
Prakash Karat, CPI(M), Member, Polit Bureau
Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary, CPI(ML)-Liberation
Brinda Karat, CPI(M), Member, Polit Bureau
N. Ram, Senior Journalist
Prashant Bhushan, Senior Lawyer
Jagmati Sangwan, General Secretary, AIDWA
Kavita Krishnan, Secretary, AIPWA
Annie Raja, General Secretary, NFIW
Tushar Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi Foundation
M. K. Raina, Film & theatre artist
Anand Patwardhan, Filmmaker
Naseeruddin Shah, Actor
Mahesh Bhatt, Filmmaker
Lalit Vachani, Filmmaker
Ram Rahman
Vivan Sundaram, Artist
Prof. Prabhat Patnaik
Prof. C. P. Chandrasekhar
Prof. Utsa Patnaik
Ritu Diwan, Former Director & Head Dept of Economics, Mumbai University
Jean Dreze
Pamela Philipose, Journalist
Achin Vanaik
Adv. Flavia Agnes, Director, Majlis Legal Centre, Mumbai.
Parthiv Shah
Prof. Irfan Habib
Prof. Arjun Dev
Prof. D. N. Jha
Prof. Kalpana Kannibaran, Hyderabad
Indira Jaisingh, Former, Addl. Sol. General
Kirti Singh, Former Member, Law Commission
Vrinda Grover, Lawyer
Prof. Abhijit Sen
Dr. Imrana Qadir
Dilip D’souza, Author
Ravi Chelam, Biologist and Conservationist Scientist, Bengaluru
Prof. Sohini Ghosh
Associate Prof. Sabina Gadihoke
Smita Gupta, economist
Prof. Jayati Ghosh
Prof. Jagmohan Singh, Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Ludhiana
Shabnam Hashmi, Anhad
Manisha Sethi, Academic
Prof. Ved Kumari
Biraj Patnaik
Virginia Saldanha
Prof.Madhu Prashad
Anees Azmi
Rahul Saxena
Anjali Mody
Dr. Nikita Sood, Oxford University
Rahul Roy, Filmmaker
Dr. Ayesha Kidwai
Prof. Harbans Mukhia
Adv. Kamayani Bali Mahabal
Binoo John (senior journalist, author)
Nachiket Udupa
N. Jayaram
Prof. Pulin Nayak
Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenoy
Angana Chatterjee
Deep Joshi
Mr. Tarun Bhartiya, Shillong
Ms. Angela Rangad, Shillong
Sanjay Karkala
Gitanjali Prasad
Vivek Sundara
Arundhati Dhuru NAPM
Sandeep Pandey, Socialist Party
Dr John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council
Chetan Mali
Vidula Ramabai
Nandini Sundar, Professor, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University
Suroor Mander
Rammanohar Reddy
Kiran Bhatty, Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi
Laxmi Murthy
Aruna Roy, MKSS
Rev. Kyrsoibor Pyrtuh, Shillong
Ms. Kalpana Kumar, Delhi
Asad Zaidi, Writer
Dunu Roy, Hazards Centre, New Delhi
Sohail Akbar
Mr. Napolean S. Mawphniang, Shillong
Ms. Gertrude Lamare, , Shillong
Ms. Janice Pariat, Shillong
Ms. Angela Rangad, Shillong
Mr. Tarun Bhartiya, Shillong
Ms. Mona Mishra, Delhi
Mr. Aflatoon, Varanasi, Secretary (Organisation), Samajwadi Janparishad
Mr. Manas Das, Bangalore
Ms. Amba Kak, Delhi
Kshetrimayum Onil, Imphal
Subrat Kumar Sahu, Delhi
Dr. Kranti Bhavana, Patna
Mr. Taru Dalmia, Delhi
Mr. Apal, Jaunpur
Mr. Mujibur Khan, Delhi
Ms Kanika Kamra, Chandigarh
Ms Neelima Goyal
Ms Brinda Bose, Delhi
Mr. Hossein Fazeli,
Mr. Jatinder Mauhar Singh, Chandigarh
Himanshi Rawat, Delhi
Dhruba J. Dutta
Abhinandita Mathur
Rahul Saxena, Bangalore, India
Muralidharan, Secretary, National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled
Ghazala Jamil
Sohail Hashmi
Prabir Purkayastha
Nikhil De, MKSS
Michael Noronha, (Mysore)
Ovais Sultan Khan
Abha Baiya
Ashok Chowdhury, AIUFWP
Bondita Acharya, Jorhat, Assam
Dr.Rosemary Dzuvichu, Nagaland University, Kohima
Kalyani Menon-Sen
Gita Sen
Vani Subramaniam
Saheli Women’s Resource Centre
Gabriele Dietrich
Niraj Malik
Javed Malick
Kiran Shaheen
Dyuti Ailawadi
Ramlath Kavil
Supriya Madangarli
Amrita Shodhan
Geetanjali Gangoli
Helen Saldana
Albertina Almeida
Pushpa Achanta
Kalpana Mehta
WSS Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression
Vineeta Bal
Malini Subramaniam
Sumi Krishna
Ratna Appnender
Sujata Patel
Chayanika Shah
Sadhna Arya
Asmita Basu
Johanna Lokhande
Pyoli Swatija
Mamta Singh
Ardhendu Sen
Parijata
Sakina Bahora
Juhi Jain
Meena Seshu
Vahida Nainar
Indira Chakravarthy
Anubha Rastogi
Soma KP
Abha Bhaiya
Runu Chakraborty
Shraddha Chickerur
Mihira Sood
Nisha Biswas
Ilina Sen
Preetha Nair
Rakhi Sehgal
Shoma Sen
Greeshma Aruna Rai
Uma Chandru
Shals Mahajan
LABIA Queer Feminist Collective
Sujata Gothoskar
Sandhya Gokhale
Forum Against Oppression of Women
Nikita Sonavane
Lalita Ramdas
Veena Shatrughna
Abhi Nandita Mathur
Freda Guttman
Vinod Mubayi, Co-editor, Insaf Bulletin
T K Raghunathan
Abby Lippman, PhD, Professor Emerita, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Martin Duckworth, cineaste
Shrikumar Poddar NRISAHI
George Abraham NRISAHI
Mohammad Imran NRISAHI
Kasim Sait Progressive Interactions, Chennai
Kareem Sait
Jai Sen
Prof.Praveen Jha
A K Ramakrishnan
Gitanjali Prasad
Rohan Dominic Mathews
Amod Shah
Shreya Agarwal
Anamika Lahiri
Rhea John
Kiran Bhatty
Vanita Leah Falcao
Ankita Aggarwal
Aashish Gupta
Avantika Dhingra
Radhika Jha
Seema Jha
Sridhar A
Farah Naqvi, Writer and Activist, Delhi
Radha Holla Brar
Vinay Kulkarni
Veena Shatrugna
R Srivatsan KS Jacob
Ravi Duggal
Indira Charkavarti
Sulakshna Nandi
Amar Jesani
Dhruv Mankad
Manisha Gupte
Renu Khanna
Sarojini
Saraswathy Ganapathy
Anant Phadke
Chinu Srinivasan
Ygesh Jain
Dr. Mohan Rao
C Sathyamala
Pallavi Gupta
Sukla Sen
Veena Johari
Ajaya Kumar Singh, Social Activist, Odisha Forum for Social Action, Bhubaneswar
Amalendu Upadhyaya, Editor, hastakshep.com
Anjali Monteiro, Mumjbai
Anubha Rastogi, advocate, Mumbai
Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal, Jamwal
Apoorvanand, Teacher, DU
Capt. Tauseef H. Mukadam, Airline Pilot – Air Asia India, Bangalore
Darryl D’Monte, Chairperson, Forum of Environmental Journalists of India (FEJI), Mumbai
Devangshu Datta, New Delhi
Farah Naqvi, Writer and Activist, Delhi
Fr. Cedric Prakash sj, Director, PRASHANT, Gujarat
Francis Parmar.Gujarat
G. M. Sheikh, artist, Vadodara
Gagan Sethi, development professional, Gujarat
Geeta Seshu, Journalist, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Ghanshyam Shah, academician, Gujarat
Githa Hariharan, writer, New Delhi
Harsh Kapoor, New Delhi
Harsh Mander, social activist, writer, Aman Biradari, New Delhi
Hussain Indorewala, Asst. Professor, Madhta Pradesh
Indira Chandrasekhar, publisher, New Delhi
K.P. Jayasankar, Mumbai
Manan Trivedi, Social Activist, Gujarat
Manoranjan Mohanty, New Delhi
Mitul Baruah, Syracuse University, NY
Mukul Mangalik, Ramjas College, DU
N.D.Jayaprakash, Social Activist, New Delhi
Nasreen Fazalbhoy, Mumbai
Navaid Hamid, MOEMIN, New Delhi
Nilanjana S Roy, New Delhi
Nilima Sheikh, artist, Vadodara
Priya Pillai , Environmental Activist , Greenpeace India.
Radha Khan, Freelance development consultant.
Ram Puniyani, writer, Mumbai
Rohit Chopra, Associate Professor Santa Clara University
Rupa Gulab
S.Q.Masood, activist, Hyderabad
Sadanand Menon, Chennai
Sanjiv Bhatt, IPS Gujarat
Shankar Singh, MKSS, Rajasthan
Sheba George, Director , SAHR WARU , Gujarat
Vineet Tiwari, Progressive Writers Association, Indore
Swarna Rajagopalan, Researcher, Chennai
Isha Khandelwal, Lawyer, Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group
Shalini Gera, Lawyer, Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group
Nandini Rao, women’s rights activist, New Delhi
Y J Rajendra, GEneral Secretary, PUCL – Karnataka
Irfan Engineer, Mumbai
Prof Archana Prasad
Dr. Dinesh Abrol

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