The Supreme Court on Thursday criticized the AIIMS medical board for its lackadaisical handling of the medical assessment related to the kin of Vikas Yadav, a convict in the infamous 2002 Nitish Katara murder case. Yadav, who is currently serving a 25-year sentence without remission, had requested interim bail to care for his critically ill mother.
Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan expressed dissatisfaction with the “cursory” manner in which the AIIMS report was submitted, emphasizing that it failed to address the necessity of surgery for Yadav’s mother. “No medical board is prepared to work. The medical report filed by AIIMS is most casual. Medical boards can’t act like postmen, merely conveying what the doctor has said,” the bench remarked in frustration.
The court has directed Dr. Vipin Tyagi of Yashoda Hospital to appear via video conferencing to provide a detailed report on the medical condition of Yadav’s mother, who is currently in the ICU at Yashoda Hospital in Ghaziabad. This direction comes after a previous observation by the court highlighting the unfair delays by the Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments in setting up a medical board to examine the woman, despite an order issued on April 2.
The need for immediate surgical intervention was suggested by the treating doctors, according to Yadav’s plea. The Supreme Court had previously sentenced Yadav in October 2016, emphasizing no remission benefits in his term due to the gravity of his crimes.
Vikas Yadav, the son of Uttar Pradesh politician D.P. Yadav, along with his cousin Vishal Yadav, were convicted for the kidnapping and murder of business executive Nitish Katara. The case drew significant attention due to the alleged motive behind the murder involving caste differences, as Katara was involved with Bharti Yadav, sister of Vikas. Another accomplice, Sukhdev Pehalwan, also received a stringent 20-year sentence as part of the same trial.
