Vikas Yadav, currently serving a 25-year jail sentence for his role in the 2002 Nitish Katara murder case, has approached the Supreme Court seeking interim bail to attend to his mother, who is undergoing medical treatment. The request was heard by a bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, who have directed the Uttar Pradesh government to form a medical board to assess the condition of Yadav’s mother, currently admitted to Yashoda Hospital in Noida.
During the court session on Wednesday, Yadav’s legal counsel highlighted the deteriorating health of his mother, who has been in the intensive care unit since February and has refused surgery. The counsel submitted her medical documents to support the bail plea, emphasizing the urgency of Yadav’s presence due to his mother’s health crisis.
The Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing for April 15, giving time for the medical board to consult with the hospital’s doctors and review the medical records before making a decision on the bail request. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati confirmed that Yadav’s mother could be examined at the hospital by the medical board.
Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh, representing Nitish Katara’s mother Nilam Katara who is the complainant in the murder case, raised concerns about Yadav’s history of medical visits which she argued could indicate a pattern of exploiting such grounds for leniency. She pointed out that Yadav had visited AIIMS 98 times citing medical reasons.
The Supreme Court noted that Yadav has already served a substantial portion of his sentence. He was sentenced in 2016 to 25 years without any remission benefits. Yadav, the son of Uttar Pradesh politician D.P. Yadav, and his cousin Vishal Yadav were convicted for the murder of business executive Nitish Katara, due to objections over Katara’s relationship with Vikas’s sister Bharti, citing caste differences. Another co-convict, Sukhdev Pehalwan, was also sentenced to a significant term.
