‘How can you get parole’: SC rejects petition by Nitish Katara killer Vikas Yadav

Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal Yadav were convicted for kidnapping Nitish Katara from a marriage party on February 16-17, 2002 before killing him for his alleged affair with his sister.

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition to seek parole filed by politician DP Yadav’s son Vikas Yadav who was convicted for murder in 2008. “How can you get parole,” a bench of the Supreme Court chaired by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi shot back to Vikas Yadav’s request that he should be released on bail because he had been in jail for 17-and-a-half years.

The SC bench also reminded Katara that his review and curative petitions against his conviction had already been dismissed. (HT file photo)

“Why and how are you entitled to bail,” Chief Justice Gogoi said, reminding him that his review and curative petitions against his conviction had already been dismissed.

Vikas Yadav and cousin Vishal Yadav were convicted for kidnapping Nitish Katara, a business executive and the son of a railway officer, from a marriage party on February 16-17, 2002 before killing him for his affair with his sister.

The top court had sentenced them to 25 years, saying that “only criminals are crying for justice” in this country. The Supreme Court had held that the murder was a case of “honour killing” and deserved a harsh punishment to send across a strong message to possible offenders. A third accomplice Sukhdev Pehalwan was sentenced to 20 years.

The three had been accused of hammering Nitish to death and burning his body.

Nitish Katara’s mother Neelam who played a key role to campaign for justice to get the killers of her son punished - the case also led to the fall of politician and UP strongman DP Yadav’s empire -- had opposed Vikas Yadav’s previous attempts to get parole from the high court.

She had argued that if Vikas Yadav was released on parole, he could well go on to kill someone else.