New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Friday allowed Vikas Yadav, serving life imprisonment for murder of Nitish Katara in 2002, to leave jail for a day to attend his sister’s wedding.
A division bench comprising Justice Anil Kumar and Justice Vipin Sanghi allowed Vikas to leave jail on Nov 1 and directed him to return when her sister’s wedding gets over the next morning.

The court also ordered two policemen to escort him in plain clothes while he is out of jail.

“No doubt, the court has to be sensitive to the need of the convict to re-connect with his family and friends to re-establish his family ties. However, that does not mean that in each and every case, without expectation, or without regard to the peculiar facts of the case, the court would mechanically suspend the sentence and release such convicts on interim bail,” the court observed.

While allowing custodial parole to Vikas, court said, “The fact that the appellant committed the offence of murder and other offences when he was on bail in the murder case of Jessica lal, cannot be brushed aside lightly.”

The high court had Thursday reserved its order on the plea of Vikas after hearing Delhi Police’s said the convict might escape if allowed out of jail.

Delhi Police had told the bench: “There would be more than 2,000 people attending the marriage and the ceremony is spread over three states of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. We have serious apprehension that he might escape from the place as it would be difficult for us to keep an eye on each visitor.

“We do not know who are the people attending the marriage, and a section of them might take him away. We can’t control and put restrictions on their events.”

Vikas, son of controversial Uttar Pradesh politician D.P. Yadav, was convicted last year along with his cousin Vishal Yadav for kidnapping and murder of Katara, a close friend of their sister Bharti.

The duo had killed Katara on the night of Feb 17, 2002, after abducting him from a marriage party in Ghaziabad as they were opposed to his relationship with Bharti.