New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the plea of Vikas Yadav, convicted in the 2002 Nitish Katara murder case, to be released from jail on leave. Yadav is currently serving a 25-year sentence without commutation.A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Vipul M Pancholi noted that Yadav had already served 23 years of imprisonment and allowed him leave till March 7. “Leave is sought now as he wishes to spend some time during Holi festival. Without discussing the merits of the case, we grant leave to the petitioner,” the bench said.this SC Overruling an objection raised by the complainant’s solicitor to the granting of leave, he said: “Do you want to hang him? Do you?” “What’s the point of hearing this from you? Twenty-three years have passed and you still don’t want to let things go. We need to let things go,” the bench said.Justice Sundaresh orally stated that granting such relief can sometimes help rehabilitate criminals. HC rejects his plea as ‘serious offence’On February 11, the Delhi High Court rejected Yadav’s plea to be released from jail and given a 21-day leave. Dismissing his petition, the HC said Yadav was convicted of a “serious crime” and was “statutorily ineligible” for leave relief under the Delhi Jail Rules, 2018.Yadav challenged the prison authorities’ order on October 29, 2025, rejecting his leave application. The court said the prison authorities’ decision was not arbitrary, illegal or in violation of constitutional rights. On October 3, 2016, the Supreme Court sentenced Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal to 25 years in prison for kidnapping Katara, a business executive, from a wedding on the night of February 16-17, 2002, and killing him for allegedly having a relationship with Yadav’s sister. Co-accused Sukhdev Yadav was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
