Nitish Katara murder: Delhi HC dismisses Vishal Yadav's plea seeking parole to file SLP in SC

New Delhi, May 2 The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea filed by Vishal Yadav, convicted in the Nitish Katara murder case, seeking regular parole to file a special leave petition (SLP) in the apex court against the order passed by the high court.

Katara was murdered in Ghaziabad on February 17, 2002. In March last year, Yadav had moved the high court. Listed before Justice Anish Dayal's bench, the plea was dismissed after hearing the matter at lenght.

In order to pursue the filing of an SPL before the top court against the judgement delivered by the high court in a criminal appeal against the judgement in a case titled 'Vishal Yadav vs State Government of UP', Yadav had sought an order directing the authorities to release him on regular parole for a period of four weeks.

The FIR under different sections of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Kavi Nagar police station.

The high court upheld the conviction and enhancement of sentences.

He also sought to set aside the order of November 26, 2021, passed by the competent authority rejecting regular parole to the petitioner.

According to the senior counsel for the petitioner, one of the grounds for parole can be sought on the basis that the petitioner intends to file his SLP before the Supreme Court and that, in accordance with the 2010 parole guidelines, the petitioner has met the requirements for parole.

However, the additional standing counsel (ASC) denied this by claiming that the opportunity to file an SLP was granted even earlier and had been taken into account by this court through two orders dated May 30, 2014, and April 20, 2018.

The counsel representing the petitioner rejected the argument that parole could not be granted to him, citing earlier judgements of the court and the fact that the petitioner had been sentenced without remission.

Vishal's cousin Vikas Yadav, along with others, were also convicted in the same case.

The high court pointed out that Vishal was granted custody parole in 2015 but he did not avail it.

Justice Dayal said Vishal's contention of denial of a constitutional right in the context of the plea for parole, therefore, has to be appreciated, viewed, weighed, sifted and winnowed in this light and not viewed in isolation.

"The petitioner (Vishal) is not precluded from pursuing his remedy to file an SLP before the Supreme Court, irrespective that it is eight years after the decision that he wishes to assail," the high court said.

Another co-convict, Sukhdev Pehalwan, was also handed down a 20-year jail term.

Prior to this, the Delhi High Court, while upholding the life imprisonment awarded to Vikas and Vishal Yadav by a trial court, specified a 30-year sentence, without any remission, to both of them. It awarded a 25-year jail term to Pehalwan.

All three were convicted and sentenced for kidnapping Katara from a marriage party in February 2002 and then killing him for his alleged affair with Vikas' sister Bharti Yadav.

Bharti is the daughter of Uttar Pradesh politician D.P. Yadav who is in jail in connection with another murder case.

Katara was murdered as Vishal and Vikas Yadav did not approve of his affair with Bharti because they belonged to different castes, the lower court said in its verdict.