"You Want To Hang Him": Supreme Court To Nitish Katara's Family On Convict Vikas Yadav

The Supreme Court has granted furlough till March 7 to murder convict Vikas Yadav to attend Holi. Yadav, the son of former MP DP Yadav, has served 23 of the 25-year sentence he received for the murder of Nitish Katara in 2002.

While allowing the furlough, which the Katara family's lawyer Vrinda Bhandari opposed fiercely, a Supreme Court bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Vipul M Pancholi said, "You want to hang him. It is very unfortunate that even after 23 years, you are not permitting him any relief. Don't get unnecessarily agitated."

"Such opportunities can help reform prisoners," the Supreme Court said.

Referring to his tenure in the Madras High Court, Justice Sundresh said he saw positive changes in the behavior of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment in a bomb blast case after they received parole.

Yadav came to the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court on February 11 denied his request for a three-week furlough. The Supreme Court ordered the murder convict to surrender by 5 pm on March 7.

It also allowed Katara's mother Nilam Katara to seek additional security from the authorities concerned. In opposing the furlough, the Katara family's lawyer asked the Supreme Court to first consider his eligibility for such a relief.

She said the high court order was passed on February 11, and the convict deliberately chose to come to the Supreme Court at the last minute.

Katara had been pursuing the case of her son's murder by Yadav, his cousin Vishal and another accused, Sukhdev Pehelwan, over her son's relationship with Yadav's sister.

Bhandari said Yadav sought interim bail citing his mother's illness in April 2024, and he kept extending the duration till the time the Supreme Court directed him to surrender. She cited another instance when Yadav sought furlough to get married; however, evidence showed that he had already been married.

Yadav's first request for furlough was turned down by jail authorities in October 2025. He challenged that decision in the high court.