The Supreme Court on Monday declined to extend the interim bail of Vikas Yadav, convicted in the 2002 Nitish Katara murder case, and directed him to approach the Delhi High Court for further relief.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma, during a brief hearing, made it clear that the apex court was not inclined to consider Yadav’s plea for extension. “You may move the Delhi High Court,” the bench told Yadav’s counsel when he pressed for relief directly from the top court. Faced with the bench’s stand, counsel for Yadav withdrew the request and said he would move the high court.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had granted a one-week extension of Yadav’s interim bail. His plea challenged the Delhi High Court’s August 22 order refusing to continue the bail that had initially been granted by the apex court on July 29.
Yadav, 54, has already spent more than 23 years in prison, serving a 25-year sentence. He had sought interim bail citing two grounds: his scheduled marriage on September 5 and the need to arrange ₹54 lakh, the fine imposed at the time of his sentencing.
The case, which shocked the nation in 2002, involved the kidnapping and murder of business executive Nitish Katara. Yadav and his cousin Vishal Yadav were convicted for the crime, allegedly carried out due to Katara’s relationship with Bharti Yadav, Vikas’s sister. The family reportedly opposed the relationship as the two belonged to different castes.
Another co-convict, Sukhdev Pehalwan, was sentenced to 20 years without remission. On July 29 this year, the Supreme Court directed his release after he completed his full sentence in March.
The apex court will not be hearing Vikas Yadav’s plea further, leaving him to pursue interim bail relief from the Delhi High Court.
