Delhi HC dismisses Nitish Katara murder convict’s plea for parole

Yadav had sought regular parole for four weeks to pursue filing of the SLP against the high court’s judgment which had upheld his conviction

The Delhi high court on Tuesday dismissed a plea by Vishal Yadav, convict in the Nitish Katara murder case, seeking parole for an appeal in the Supreme Court against his conviction and life sentence in the 2002 murder.

Nitish Katara was murdered in February 2002. (HT Photo)

Justice Anish Dayal, however, said that said Yadav’s contention of denial of a constitutional right in context of the plea for parole has to be appreciated, viewed, weighed, sifted and winnowed in this light and not viewed in isolation and he is free to file a special leave petition (SLP) before the apex court.

“The petitioner is not precluded from pursuing his remedy to file an SLP before the Supreme Court, irrespective that it is eight years after the decision that he wishes to assail,” the court said.

Yadav had sought regular parole for four weeks to pursue filing of the SLP against the high court’s judgment which had upheld his conviction and enhanced the sentences.

The court added that past conduct of the petitioner as well as that of co-accused Vikas was “serious, exceptional, acute and grave, to say the least, and cannot be ignored or taken lightly for the purpose of considering this plea”.

Justice Dayal said it would not be prudent to assess the petitioner’s plea as a simple segregated isolated plea for filing the SLP and completely ignore and overlook his past conduct. The court said it cannot turn a blind eye to these facts and circumstances.

Yadav sought to be released on parole on the ground that since the records of the case are voluminous running into 2,000 pages, his presence with his advocate is required for the preparation and finalisation of the SLP.

On October 3, 2016, the Supreme Court had awarded a 25-year jail term without any benefit of remission to Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal for their role in the sensational kidnapping and killing of business executive Nitish Katara.

Another co-convict Sukhdev Pehalwan was also handed a 20-year jail term in the case. All three were convicted and sentenced for kidnapping Katara from a marriage party on the intervening night of February 16 and 17, 2002 and then killing him over his alleged relationship with Bharti Yadav, Vikas’s sister.

Bharti is the daughter of Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav who is in jail in connection with another murder case.

Katara was murdered as Vishal and Vikas Yadav did not approve of the relationship because they belonged to different castes, the lower court had said in its verdict.

Prior to this, the Delhi high court, while upholding the life imprisonment awarded to the cousins by the trial court, specified a 30-year sentence, without any remission, to both. It awarded a 25-year jail term to Pehalwan.