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Notices to Delhi, U.P. governments

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Governments on appeals by Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal Yadav against their conviction in the Nitish Katara murder case.

A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice Anil Kumar and Justice V. K. Shali asked the two governments to file replies to the appeals by January 27.

In the appeals, Vishal and Vikas Yadav submitted that there was no case against them as the post-mortem report of the body did not establish anything against them.

As for prosecution witnesses, they submitted they were all planted. The sole eyewitness in the case, Ajay Katara, was an interested witness as he was related to the Neelam Katara family, they alleged.

They further submitted that the recoveries in the case – a hammer with which Nitish was killed and the wrist watch purportedly found on the body — were planted by the prosecution.

Vikas Yadav had earlier moved the Allahabad High Court against his conviction on the plea that his appeal lay in that High Court as the crime was committed in the territory which came under its judicial jurisdiction but the High Court had dismissed his plea.

Thereafter he moved the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court judgment. The Supreme Court also dismissed his plea.

Vikas Yadav, son of former Rajya Sabha member D. P. Yadav, and Vishal Yadav were tried and convicted by a Sessions Court here in May this year. The Court had sentenced both to life imprisonment.

They were held guilty of kidnapping Nitish Katara, son of a former IAS officer, and later killing him in 2002 because they were allegedly opposed to their sister Bharti having an affair with him.

Bharti was a key witness in the case, but she had retracted her police statement in her evidence in the trial court.

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