Wednesday’s sentence may have strengthened her faith in the judiciary but Neelam Katara, Nitish Katara’s mother, is disappointed that the case dragged on for so long that it cost her her son.
“If today’s verdict had come within a year or so after Jessica’s murder in 1999, Vikas would have been behind the bars by 2002 and as a result, Nitish could have been saved. The case dragged on for way too long and it cost me my son,” she said.
Vikas Yadav was out on bail in the Jessica case when he allegedly killed Nitish Katara in 2002.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sentenced Vikas Yadav to four years rigorous imprisonment for aiding and abetting the crime.
Katara said Nitish’s murder was a glaring example of how harmful the process of delayed justice could be. “Around the same time as my son was killed, there was a case in the US where a Sikh was shot dead at a petrol pump. The sentence in that case was delivered in six months. Why can’t our judicial process, too, be a bit faster?” she asked.
Speaking in favour of speedy trials, she said that relevant authorities must go for a study of these two cases and find out how delayed justice can cost someone’s life. “Even the President of India has pleaded the judiciary for a speedy trails. I am sure something will be done in due course,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking in favour of speedy trials, she said that relevant authorities must go for a study of these two cases and find out how delayed justice can cost someone’s life. “Even the President of India has pleaded the judiciary for a speedy trails. I am sure something will be done in due course,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}However, she said the verdicts in both the Jessica and the Priyadarshini Mattoo cases have “reaffirmed” her faith on the judiciary. “I believe justice has finally been delivered.”
Email Avishek Dastidar: avishek.dastidar@hindustantimes.com