Nitish Katara murder case: HC to pronounce verdict tomorrow

New Delhi: Nearly a year after reserving its verdict, the Delhi High Court is likely to pronounce tomorrow the judgement on appeals of three convicts against a lower court order awarding rigorous life imprisonment to them for abducting and killing Nitish Katara in 2002. [caption id=“attachment_1461269” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Bharti Yadav exiting the court after an appearance in the Nitish Katara murder case in New Delhi. AFP[/caption] A bench of Justice Gita Mittal and Justice JR Midha had reserved the verdict on appeals of Vikas Yadav, son of Uttar Pradesh politician DP Yadav, his cousin Vishal and Sukhdev Yadav on 16 April, last year after hearing final arguments. The lawyers for the convicts, state and Neelam Katara, mother of the victim, had started advancing final arguments on 16 April, 2012. Vikas, Vishal and Sukhdev Pehalwan are serving life term for abducting and killing Nitish Katara, a business execitive and son of an IAS officer, on the intervening night of 16-17 February, 2002. The court has heard five appeals filed by three convicts against their conviction and one each from the prosecution and Neelam Katara, seeking award of death penalty to the persons found guilty by the lower court. However, the court had decided to segregate the appeals filed by the victim’s mother and the prosecution from that of convicts. The prosecution had alleged that the Yadavs allegedly killed the victim as they did not approve his alleged affair with their sister Bharti Yadav. Vikas and Vishal were convicted by the trial court in 2008. Their accomplice Pehlwan, who had absconded for some time but was arrested in 2005, was tried separately and sentenced to life term by the trial court. PTI