Supreme Court Rejects Extension of Vikas Yadav’s Interim Bail in Nitish Katara Murder Case
In a key decision, the Supreme Court of India on Monday turned down Vikas Yadav’s plea to extend his interim bail. Vikas Yadav, one of the main convicts in the shocking 2002 Nitish Katara murder case, now has to approach the Delhi High Court for any further relief on his bail.
A bench led by Justices M.M. Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma made it clear that Yadav should file his request for an extension or fresh interim bail with the Delhi High Court. This comes after the same bench, headed by Justice Sundresh, had already stated it wouldn’t extend Yadav’s bail for his mother’s post-operative care.
Let’s rewind a bit to understand the background. Back on April 24 this year, the top court granted Yadav temporary bail until May 8. This was a big relief for him, as he’s already spent 23 years behind bars. The court allowed this specifically so he could visit his ailing mother and help with her treatment. Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan had ordered: "Only for the purposes of enabling the petitioner to meet his ailing mother and to ensure that appropriate treatment is provided to her for the time being, we grant temporary bail to the petitioner."
The Supreme Court extended this interim bail multiple times in the past. But now, they’ve put an end to it at the top level. As part of the conditions, the court asked Vikas Yadav – son of Uttar Pradesh politician D.P. Yadav – to submit a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh with one local surety of the same amount. He also had to report to the local police station every day at 11 a.m. Plus, the court strictly warned him not to contact any witnesses, including Neelam Katara (the mother of the victim Nitish Katara) or her family members.
The Supreme Court even suggested that Yadav’s mother get examined by a medical board at AIIMS Delhi and submit the report by May 7. During his bail period, Yadav had to stay confined to his Ghaziabad residence, except for visits to Yashoda Hospital once his mother was shifted back there from AIIMS.
Remember the Nitish Katara murder case? It grabbed headlines back in 2002 when Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal Yadav kidnapped Nitish from a wedding party in Delhi and killed him. The reason? They didn’t approve of Nitish’s alleged relationship with their sister Bharti Yadav, mainly because the two belonged to different castes. The trial court convicted them and sentenced both to 25 years in prison without any remission. This high-profile case highlighted issues like honor killings and caste tensions in India.
With this latest Supreme Court ruling, Vikas Yadav’s legal battle in the Nitish Katara murder case takes another turn. Stay tuned for updates as he heads to the Delhi High Court for his interim bail extension.
