Supreme Court upholds Yakub Menon death penalty
New Delhi, Mar 21 : The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence of Yakub Memon, one of the key accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case that had killed 257 people.
The apex court commuted the death sentence of 10 others to life.
It was alleged that the blasts were the instruments to avenge the demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya in December 1992 and were allegedly conspired by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, along with Tiger Memon and his brother Yakub Memon.
The blasts resulted in the conviction of 100 people; out of which 11 were sentenced to death, while another 22 were given life terms by a TADA court.
In Mumbai, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam welcomed the verdict and said it will send a strong message to Pakistan also.
The court is also scheduled to give its verdict on whether actor Sanjay Dutt , who was convicted in an arms case, would be jailed or not.
The actor was earlier sentenced to six years of imprisonment by a TADA court in July 2007.
Dutt was accused of illegal possession of arms, including an AK-56 rifle. He was, however, acquitted of graver charges under TADA or the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.
Dutt, who is out on bail now after spending 18 months in prison, had challenged his conviction in the Supreme Court.
On March 12, 1993, twelve coordinated blasts in Bombay Stock Exchange, Air India Building at Nariman Point and hotels Sea Rock and Juhu Centaur resulted in death of at least 257 people and injury to more than 700.