Nitish Katara murder: Vikas Yadav pleads to SC for 'leniency', seeks reducing prison term

Vikas Yadav, who is serving a 25-year jail term without any remission in the brutal murder of Nitish Katara in 2002, on Wednesday pleaded to the Supreme Court for leniency in the case and sought that his prison term should be reduced.

Senior Supreme Court advocate U.R. Lalit appearing for the convict, Vikas, son of former Parliamentarian, D.P. Yadav, told the Apex Court division bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra and also comprising Justice C. Nagappan, that his client had already undergone over 14 years of jail sentence.

He also said that without any proper parole, the convict was serving this jail sentence, although the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court at several times had granted custody parole to him.

The division bench, which was hearing the case, then posted the matter for further hearing tomorrow, with the state to argue it on Thursday.

Senior counsel Dayan Krishnan, would be appearing for the Delhi government in the Apex Court.

The Delhi High Court on February 6 had rejected the plea for death sentence and enhanced the life imprisonment of Vikas and his cousin Vishal to 25 years in jail without any remission.

The High Court had held that the murder of Katara, who was in love with Vikas's sister, was an "honour killing" which was done in a very "carefully planned and premeditated" manner with "extreme vengeance".

The High Court had decided to enhance the sentence awarded by the Trial Court, saying "amplitude of the gravity of the offence", "cries for the need" that they be "adequately punished".