Delhi govt against any mercy to killers of Nitish Katara

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government will oppose the interim bail plea of Vikas Yadav and Vishal Yadav, serving life sentence in 2002 Nitish Katara murder case.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government will oppose the interim bail plea of Vikas Yadav and Vishal Yadav, serving life sentence in 2002 Nitish Katara murder case.

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The government will also plead to the Supreme Court “not to show any leniency in revising their punishment”, sources said.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a petition filed by the convicts on Friday, seeking revision of enhanced jail term by the Delhi High Court.

The convicts have pleaded for interim bail after the Delhi government denied parole to the duo.

In February 2015, the Delhi High Court had sentenced Vikas and his cousin Vishal to life imprisonment, with a stipulation that they undergo at least 30 years’ imprisonment without benefit of remission.

The Supreme Court had upheld the High Court verdict. The convicts have filed a special leave petition before the apex court, seeking revision of the enhanced punishment.

“The government will oppose the interim bail besides pleading with the Supreme Court that convicts require no leniency. All facts showing their antecedents during the course of their conviction will be presented to the court,” a source said.

The Delhi government has filed an affidavit before the apex court. The affidavit includes details of communications between the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh government to highlight that the convicted duo “misused their liberty at least on two occasions and did not appear before a court in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, even as they left Tihar jail on pretext of being produced before the court”.

A case is registered against Vikas and Vishal Yadav in Badaun. Sources said the duo visited Badaun from Tihar jail for being produced in a court on numerous occasions in the past.

A Delhi government official said the facts have come to light after the UP government shared information related to the Badaun case with the Delhi government. “We had sought information about the case after we got a tip off about their trip to Badaun,” the official said.