The Delhi High Court on Friday said it will not interfere with its Single Judge’s order rejecting a plea for furlough by Vikas Yadav, who is in jail for life for the murder of Nitish Katara.
A Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V.K. Rao noted that the State government and later the Single Judge had on July 9 rejected Vikas’ plea based on his conduct in prison.
Stating that it was “not going to interfere in the matter”, the Bench observed that he was punished for misconduct while in jail and his behaviour in prison was found unsatisfactory.
Nitish was kidnapped from a wedding function on the intervening night of February 16 and 17, 2002, and murdered over his alleged affair with Vikas’ sister Bharti, the daughter of Uttar Pradesh politician D.P. Yadav. Nitish was murdered as Vishal and Vikas did not approve of his affair with Bharati since they belonged to different castes, the lower court had said in its verdict.
During the hearing, Vikas’ lawyer told the High Court that his client had already spent over 16 years in prison and he was punished four times for violation of jail conditions. Additional Criminal Standing Counsel Rajesh Mahajan opposed the appeal, saying Vikas was unqualified for furlough as he has not earned the required three Annual Good Conduct Remissions.