Katara murder: SC raps UP, Delhi govt over delay in forming medical board for Vikas Yadav’s mother

Noting that the state has to be fair, the Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi over delay in constituting a medical board to examine the condition of the mother of Vikas Yadav, who is serving a 25-year jail term in the 2002 Nitish Katara murder case.

Vikas Yadav — the son of Uttar Pradesh politician DP Yadav — has sought interim bail to attend to his ailing mother.

A bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka was surprised to note that despite its April 2 order, it took 10 days to constitute a medical board to examine the condition of his mother admitted to Yashoda Hospital in Ghaziabad.

By the time the medical board visited, Yadav’s mother was discharged from the hospital, it said even as Yadav’s counsel submitted that the petitioner’s mother was admitted to the hospital again on Monday.

“You took 10 days to constitute a medical board. There needs to be some explanation. Don’t take use of our mild language in the order... The state may have something against the petitioner but the state has to be fair,” the bench said.

The top court ordered that a fresh medical board be constituted by the medical superintendent of AIIMS and assessment be done immediately and a report be submitted.

Yadav’s counsel had said the mother’s condition had deteriorated in February as he placed on record her medical documents and that she was in the intensive care unit and had refused surgery.

Yadav said his mother Umesh Yadav was critically ill and hospitalised. The treating doctors, the plea said, advised immediate surgical intervention given her medical condition.

“Due to the serious condition of the petitioner’s mother, his assistance and presence is needed,” the plea said.

On October 3, 2016, the top court sentenced Yadav without any benefit of remission.

Vikas Yadav’s cousin Vishal Yadav was also punished for the kidnapping and murder of business executive Katara. The duo was against Katara’s alleged affair with Bharti Yadav, sister of Vikas, as they belonged to different castes. Another co-convict Sukhdev Pehalwan was given a 20-year jail term without any remission benefit.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court, while upholding the life imprisonment awarded to Vikas and Vishal Yadav by the trial court, specified a 30-year sentence, without any remission, to both of them. It had awarded a 25-year jail term to the third convict, Pehalwan. The Delhi Prisons administration had last year rejected Yadav’s remission request after his conduct was found to be unsatisfactory.