Vishal Yadav’s parole plea to be considered

The Delhi High Court has directed the competent authority to decide on the parole plea of Vishal Yadav, convicted for the murder of business executive Nitish Katara

The Delhi High Court has directed the competent authority to decide on the parole plea of Vishal Yadav, convicted for the murder of business executive Nitish Katara in 2002. Yadav is serving a life imprisonment sentence and is currently lodged in Tihar Jail. Delhi’s lieutenant governor (L-G) Anil Baijal has the power to grant parole to prisoners. The L-G may authorise any officer from the state government’s home department to decide on granting or refusing parole.

HT Image

Justice AK Chawla said that Yadav’s plea seeking eight-week parole is to be treated as a representation and be disposed of within 15 days. Yadav, through his counsel Sanyam Khetarpal, had moved the court stating that he is at an increased risk of contracting the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) since he has a history of tuberculosis.

“In the considered view of the court, the subject matter requires to be considered by the competent authority in the first instance,” Justice AK Chawla said.

On Friday, the counsel for the Delhi government, additional standing counsel (criminal) Rajesh Mahajan, told the court that the representation would be considered on its merits and will be disposed of within three weeks.

Yadav, along with his brother Vikas Yadav and another person, were found guilty of murdering Katara, a businessman, as they did not approve of his relationship with their sister. A Delhi court had convicted the trio in May 2008 and the sentence of life imprisonment was upheld by the Delhi High Court in 2014.

The Tihar prison, which has around 18,000 inmates, is the most crowded prison complex across the country. As on Saturday afternoon, the prison had not reported a single case of Covid-19. As a measure to contain the spread of Covid-19 by decongesting the prison, around 3,000 prisoners were released last month. The prisoners lodged in open jail have also been told to avail the eight-week parole. Until the lockdown started, open jail prisoners would leave the prison complex in the morning to work outside and return in the evening. The jail administration has also cancelled the visits of all family members. Before this, every prisoner was entitled to meet his/her family member twice a week.