Delhi HC verdict on Nitish Katara murder Wednesday

The Delhi High Court will Wednesday deliver its judgment on appeals of three convicts against a trial court verdict awarding them life imprisonment for abducting and killing Nitish Katara in 2002.

A division bench of Justice Gita Mittal and Justice J.R. Midha had reserved the judgment April 16 last year.

The court was hearing appeals of convicts Vikas Yadav, brother of Katara's friend Bharti, and Vishal Yadav, Bharti's cousin, and contract killer Sukhdev Pehalwan, who are serving life terms in Tihar jail.

The prosecution and the victim's mother Neelam Katara have also filed appeals seeking enhancement of sentences of the convicts. They sought death penalty for the murderers.

According to the prosecution, Vikas and Vishal killed Katara on the night of Feb 17, 2002 after abducting him from a marriage party in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad.

Seeking death penalty for the convicts, the prosecution told the high court that Nitish Katara and Bharti Yadav were in an "intense relationship" and her family's opposition to their friendship led to the killing of Katara, son of an Indian Administrative Service officer.

Vikas and Bharti are children of former parliamentarian D.P. Yadav.

Vishal was convicted in 2008 along with his cousin Vikas for kidnapping and murdering.

The Yadavs sought a re-trial of the case saying the trial was not conducted in accordance with law.