SC deputy registrar resigns over Memon's execution

A deputy registrar in the Supreme Court has quit, citing his differences with the court's verdict rejecting the last-ditch plea of Yakub Memon, the lone death row convict in the March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, against his death warrant.

Anup Surendranath, who has been working in the SC as deputy registrar (research) on contract basis, in his resignation letter, had mentioned personal reasons behind his step but in a Facebook post, showed his dissatisfaction over Memon's execution.

On the social media site, he posted: "I have been contemplating this for a while now for a variety of reasons, but what was played out this week at the Supreme Court was the proverbial final nail.

"I have resigned from my post at the Supreme Court to focus on death penalty work at the University."

"It is in many ways liberating to regain the freedom to write whatever I want and I hope to make full use of that in the next few days to discuss the events that transpired at the Supreme Court this week."

Commenting on the execution, he had earlier posted: "It would be silly and naive to see the events of the last 24 hours at the Supreme Court as some triumph of the rule of law - the two orders at 4 p.m. on 29th July and 5 a.m. on 30th July (and the reasoning adopted therein) are instances of judicial abdication that must count amongst the darkest hours for the Supreme Court of India."

Memon was hanged in the Nagpur Central Jail early on Thursday, after a prolonged legal battle that continued till barely a couple of hours before his execution.

The day saw an unprecedented hearing being held at the Supreme Court at 3 a.m. when the court rejected Memon's plea seeking postponement of his hanging by 14 days.

Hours later, Memon was sent to the gallows at 6.35 a.m., ironically, on his 54th birthday - and was pronounced dead at 7.01 a.m. by a medical team present there.