The Supreme Court forwarded Vikas Yadav’s petition for remission to a three-judge bench on Tuesday and scheduled a hearing for October 3rd.
The matter was delayed for further hearing on the plea on October 3 by a bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Sanjay Kumar. Vikas Yadav, son of former legislator DP Yadav, challenged the bar on consideration of his remission until he finished his 25-year sentence for the 2002 murder of business executive Nitish Katara. Vikas Yadav is serving a life sentence in the case.
The counsel for deceased Nitish Katara’s mother, Nilam Katara, objected to Vikas Yadav’s petition being maintained. In the Nitish Katara murder case, Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal are serving life sentences.
According to the prosecution, Vikas and Vishal Yadav killed Katara on the night of February 17, 2002, after kidnapping him from a marriage celebration in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, because they were jealous of his friendship with their sister Bharti.
In May 2008, a trial court found Vikas Yadav guilty of murdering Nitish Katara because he was in a relationship with his sister. Vikas Yadav stated in his application that he had served 21 years of his sentence and that the rejection of remission violated his fundamental right to life and liberty.
Nilam Katara, Nitish Katara’s mother, has accused Vikas Yadav of hiding information. In her plea, she detailed the case’s history and argued against Vikas Yadav’s early release.