New Delhi: Vikas Yadav, serving life term
along with his cousin Vishal Yadav, for killing MBA graduate
Nitish Katara in February 2002, was on Tuesday granted "custodial
parole" by the Delhi High Court to attend his younger
brother`s marriage ceremony on April 29.
A division bench of Justices AK Sikri and ML Mehta,
allowed Vikas to attend the wedding function from 6 pm on
April 29 till the completion of the ceremony by early hours
the following day.
"The wedding is to take place in Delhi. We allow
custodial parole and permit the appellant (Vikas) to attend the
marriage ceremony of his younger brother Kunal on April 29
under judicial custody from 6.00 pm till the completion of
ceremony -- early hours of April 30," the bench said.
The court permitted Vikas to meet whoever he desires
in the function during the permissible hours. It, however,
directed the police to ensure safe and secure surroundings.
Directing the police to accompany Vikas in plain
clothes throughout the function, the bench said, "While
permitting the appellant to move around and meet all those
whom he may desire during this period, the officials shall
ensure safe and secure surroundings."
The bench, however, declined to permit him to attend
two reception events organised by his family on May 1 and 6.
Vikas` plea seeking bail for three months to attend
the marriage scheduled for April 29 and other related
functions, was opposed by Delhi government`s standing counsel
Sanjeev Bhandari who suggested granting him a few hours of
parole to attend some of the important functions linked to
marriage.
Earlier, on April 7, the bench had directed the Delhi
police to take Vikas under escort from 8 pm to 10 pm to attend
Kunal`s engagement ceremony on April 14 held in Hotel Hyatt
Regency here.
In May 2008, a city court had sentenced Vikas, 37, and
his cousin Vishal, 36, for killing Nitish Katara, son of an
IAS officer.
According to the prosecution, Vikas and Vishal had
kidnapped Katara from a marriage party in Ghaziabad on the
night of February 16, 2002 and killed him as they were against
Katara`s intimacy with their sister Bharati Yadav.
PTI
