Delhi, UP get notices on Vikas Yadav's bail plea

The Delhi high court Monday issued notices to both Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments on the bail application of former Rajya Sabha member D P Yadav's son Vikas Yadav, who is serving a life term for killing his sister's friend Nitish Katara nine years ago.

The Delhi high court Monday issued notices to both Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments on the bail application of former Rajya Sabha member D P Yadav's son Vikas Yadav, who is serving a life term for killing his sister's friend Nitish Katara nine years ago.

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A division bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice Siddharth Mridul issued the notices to both state government, seeking their replies by Oct 21.

The court was hearing the bail application of Vikas, whose counsel Sumit Verma contended that Vikas's appeal against his conviction has been pending before the Delhi high court for over three years now and it may take more than a year before the hearing begins.

Citing an earlier order of the Supreme Court, Vikas claimed that the apex court had given him the liberty to seek relief if the high court makes delay in hearing his appeal.

He said on the grounds of having a heavy workload, a high court bench had last month refused to list, for early hearing, his appeal against the trial court's May 2008 order which had convicted and sentenced him, his cousin Vishal Yadav and others for kidnapping and killing Katara.

In April this year, the high court had refused to grant bail to Vikas but allowed him to attend his younger brother's marriage ceremony while remaining in custody.

In May 2008, a city court had sentenced Vikas and Vishal for killing Nitish Katara, son of an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.

According to the prosecution, Vikas and Vishal had kidnapped Katara from a marriage party in Ghaziabad on the night of Feb 16, 2002, and killed him as they were against Katara's intimacy with their sister Bharati Yadav.