File photo of Yakub Memon
As questions are being raised on whether the prosecution concealed certain "mitigating factors" that might have led to a lighter sentence for Yakub Memon, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam has denied any knowledge of what transpired between him and the intelligence agencies when he was arrested in 1994.
"Yakub Memon never stated on oath that he "surrendered", which he was legally competent to do. As a public prosecutor, I had no knowledge of any alleged theory of surrender," Mr Nikam told NDTV.
His response came after former Supreme Court judge Justice HS Bedi raised questions on the role of the prosecution, on the basis of an article by former Research and Analysis Wing officer late B Raman, who led the operation to bring Memon back to India.
"Prosecutors should be fair to both sides, these days they withhold evidence which are in favour of the accused," Justice Bedi told NDTV. He said in view of Mr Raman's reputation, the matter needs to be reinvestigated and "if something comes out in favour of the accused, he should get the benefit, failing which the execution can take place at a later date."
In an article written in 2007 but published now -- two years after Mr Raman's death - by news website rediff.com, Mr Raman wrote that some "some mitigating circumstances" were "probably not brought to the notice of the court by the prosecution... in their eagerness to obtain the death penalty."
He described the "mitigating circumstances" as Memon's cooperation with the investigating agencies "and his role in persuading some other members of the family to surrender"
Retired Justice PD Kode, who had presided over the Tada court that pronounced the death sentence in 2007, refuted the surrender theory.
"Yakub never gave any details to the court about this so-called "surrender". When, where and to which officer did he surrender? What were the assurances given to him? This is an afterthought. Even if he had, it cannot be taken as a mitigating factor," Justice Kode told NDTV.