In a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, he wrote, "I have received a representation relating to 55-year-old ex-constable Abdul Khadeer who has been in jail in Andhra Pradesh for 22 years having been awarded life sentence by the court.
"It is stated in the representation that he has become very weak due to diabetes and other ailments. He has a wife and four children and he was the sole bread earner in the family."
Katju requested the state government to take a "humanitarian view and release Khadeer by giving pardon or remission of sentence under Article 161 of the Constitution" since he had already undergone a long period of imprisonment.