Yakub Memon's execution still haunts India: Supreme Court breaks silence, issues statement

New Delhi, Aug 3: Days after his execution, Yakub Memon's hanging continues to haunt India. Amid debate over death penalty, an official of the Supreme Court resigned.

It was reported that the official resigned as he was upset with Memon's execution. However, overruling such reports, the apex court on Monday, July 3 broke its silence for the first time.

[Yakub Memon Hanged: Indians divided, Supreme Court official resigns]

The court issued an official statement in which it clarified that Dr Anup Surendranath did not resign over Yakub Memon's execution.

The court in its statement said, "He resigned on his own request as he wanted to pursue his research."

"Dr Surendranath has returned to teaching at the National Law University in Delhi. He led the educational institution's attempt to prevent the hanging of Memon," added the court.

[No death penalty even for terrorists, says Shashi Tharoor]

Earlier in of his statement on a social networking site, Dr Anup Surendranath wrote, "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 pm on 29th July and 5 am 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," he added.

Finally, he concluded his post writing, "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."

Yakub Memon was the sole 1993 blasts convict who was given death penalty. He was hanged in Nagpur Central Jail on July 30, 2015.

OneIndia News