NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court today refused to extend the parole of Vikas Yadav, serving a 30-year jail term without remission for the murder of Nitish Katara, and asked him to "surrender immediately".
"The petitioner (Vikas) was granted a custody parole for a week. No special ground is made out for further extension of the parole, sought by the applicant" Justice A K Pathak said, adding that Vikas should surrender before the jail authorities immediately.
Vikas, son of Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav, sought 21 more days time to surrender, saying he was not able to prepare the appeal, for which he was out.
The convict was granted seven days parole last month, after he said he wished to challenge in the Supreme Court, the high court verdict in the murder case and wanted to prepare for it.
Vikas's counsel Sumeet Verma contended that his client was "not a terrorist" and if his parole was extended by 21 more days by the court while imposing any kind of condition, he would abide by all of them.
Rajesh Mahajan, representing Delhi Police, vehemently opposed Vikas' plea for parole extension, saying the court has granted the convict enough time to prepare his appeal against the recent high court judgement. Agreeing with the Delhi Police counsel's submission, the court dismissed the application filed by Vikas.
The high court on February 6 had enhanced the sentence for Vikas and his cousin Vishal from life imprisonment to 25 years without remission for the murder of Nitish Katara and five more years for destruction of evidence in the case. Yadavs' acquaintance Sukhdev Yadav alias Pehelwan was also awarded an enhanced life sentence of 20 years without remission by the high court.
The three were awarded life term by a trial court for abducting and killing Katara, a business executive and son of an IAS officer, on the intervening night of February 16-17, 2002. They did not approve of the victim's affair with Bharti, the daughter of D P Yadav.
The high court had on April 2, 2014 upheld the verdict of the lower court in the case by describing the offence as "honour killing" stemming from a "deeply-entrenched belief" in caste system.
