Articles by late RAW officer, ex-Judge of no relevance: Attorney General

New Delhi: Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi on Monday said publication of articles written by former intelligence officer or the ex-judges of the Supreme Court on evidence concerning Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, the sole death row convict in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, has no relevance in his plea seeking stay of his execution on July 30.

"The retired judge comes out with his article a day before the hearing," he said before a bench comprising Justices AR Dave and Kurian Joseph while downplaying the reference made about the article of retired apex court judge Markandey Katju.

He was also critical of raising the issue of an article written by a late top official of RAW, B Raman, who had favoured clemency for Memon.

"Now the person is dead and you are saying that it is a case in which new evicence has come," Rohatgi said when senior advocate TR Andharujina made a reference to the two incidents.

Andhyarujina was appearing for Death Penalty Litigation Clinic, associated with the National Law University Delhi, which has been against capital punishment.

The Attorney General said that even the latest move of 30 eminent persons moving a representation on Sunday to the President in no way changes the fate of the case.

"The facts cannot change" and "even the plea for mercy or clemency depends upon the facts of the crime and not on judicial process," he said.

The former RAW officer was of the view that Memon had cooperated with investigating agencies and does not deserve to be hanged.

Raman, who retired as Additional Secretary in 1994 and was in-charge of counter-terrorism, had written an article for publication containing this view but stopped it from seeing the light of the day following an after-thought.

But the article has now been published on 'Rediff.com' website which talks about Memon being picked up in Nepal and his subsequent formal arrest at Old Delhi railway station by CBI.

Justice Katju said there has been "gross travesty of justice" in the case of Memon as the evidence on which he has been found guilty is "very weak".