Top Court Orders Release Of Nitish Katara Murder Convict Sukhdev Pehalwan

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the release of convict Sukhdev Yadav alias Pehalwan in the 2002 Nitish Katara murder case, noting that he has completed his sentence of 20 years in March this year.

The Sentence Review Board had rejected Yadav's remission plea, citing his conduct. The top court expressed surprise over the SRB action and said how could it sit over an order passed by the court.

"How can the Sentence Review Board sit over an order of the judicial authority. If this is the approach, then every convict will die in jail. Is this the conduct of an executive?" a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and K V Viswanathan said.

The top court said Yadav should have been released after the completion of sentence of 20 years.

Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Dave, appearing for the Delhi government, argued that there can't be an automatic release after 20 years and life imprisonment means jail till the remainder of natural life.

However, senior advocate Siddharth Mridul, appearing for Yadav, submitted that his client completed the sentence on March 9, 2025.

He denied any lawful justification to detain Yadav beyond March 9 and said the Delhi government was wrong in its interpretation of the sentence.

The top court had earlier granted three months' furlough to Yadav, noting that he has undergone 20 years of uninterrupted incarceration without remission.

Furlough is a temporary release from prison, not a suspension or remission of the entire sentence, and is typically granted to long-term inmates who have served a portion of their sentence.

Yadav's plea challenged a November 2024 order of the Delhi High Court, which dismissed his petition for releasing him on furlough for three weeks.

On October 3, 2016, the Supreme Court awarded a 25-year jail term without the benefit of remission to Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal Yadav for their role in the sensational kidnapping and killing of Katara.

Co-convict Sukhdev Yadav was given a 20-year jail term in the case.

They were convicted and sentenced for kidnapping Katara from a marriage party on the intervening night of February 16 and 17, 2002 and then killing him for his alleged affair with Vikas' sister Bharti Yadav.

Bharti is the daughter of Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav.

The trial court observed that Katara was murdered as Vishal and Vikas Yadav did not approve of his affair with Bharti due to their different castes.  

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)