SC grants furlough to Nitish Katara murder convict Vikas Yadav for Holi

Yadav, who is son of former parliamentarian DP Yadav, is serving his jail sentence which requires him to spend 25 years without remission in prison

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Nitish Katara murder case convict Vikas Yadav, to be temporarily released on furlough till March 7 to celebrate Holi.

The bench directed him to surrender on March 7 by 5pm. (File photo | HT)

Yadav, who is son of former Parliamentarian DP Yadav, is serving his jail sentence which requires him to spend 25 years without remission in prison. He has already undergone over 23 years of sentence and approached the top court after his request for three-week furlough was declined by the Delhi high court on February 11.

While directing him to surrender on March 7 by 5pm, the court also permitted the complainant - Nilam Katara, to seek additional security from the concerned authorities.

Katara’s lawyer Vrinda Bhandari opposed the grant of furlough claiming that the court must first consider his eligibility for such a relief. She said that the order of the HC rejecting furlough was passed on February 11 and they have deliberately chosen to approach the court at the last minute.

The bench of justices MM Sundresh and Vipul M Pancholi said, “You want to hang him. It is very unfortunate that even after 23 years, you are not permitting him any relief. Don’t get unnecessarily agitated.”

Katara had been pursuing the case of her son’s murder who was killed by Vikas, his cousin Vishal along with one Sukhdev Pehelwan for being in a love relationship with Yadav’s sister.

Bhandari told the court that even in the past, Yadav sought interim bail on account of his mother’s illness on April 24 last year and kept extending it till the top court directed him to surrender. She further pointed out that before the Delhi high court, he sought furlough for his marriage and the complainant had produced evidence to show that he had already been married.

The bench said, “The biggest problem is that you do not let things go. You keep holding things to your heart. Every sinner has got a future.” Justice Sundresh said.

While the court was inclined to close the petition, senior advocate S Guru Krishna Kumar appearing for Yadav requested to issue notice on the matter and keep it pending. He said that the high court has held that Yadav is not eligible for furlough and even jail authorities cited that he does not maintain good conduct.

Disputing these observations against him, Kumar said that a prisoner is entitled to three furloughs during his term and this is only the first furlough that he seeks. The bench issued notice and asked the Delhi government and Katara to file responses within four weeks.

Yadav was initially denied furlough by the jail authorities on October 29, 2025, a decision he challenged before the HC. He claimed eligibility under Rule 1223 of the Delhi Prison Rules, 2018 which states that in order to be eligible for furlough, the prisoner must have good conduct in the prison for the past three years, should not be a habitual offender and must be a citizen of India.

The HC upheld the order rejecting furlough and said, “This court finds no arbitrariness, illegality, or violation of constitutional rights in the order dated October 29 or the corrigendum dated December 1, 2025.”