Nitish Katara murder: Delhi HC rejects Vikas Yadav’s plea for temporary prison release

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea by Vikas Yadav , serving a 25-year prison term without remission for the 2002 murder of business executive Nitish Katara , seeking temporary release on furlough . The verdict was delivered by Justice Ravinder Dudeja .

Vikas had challenged the jail authorities’ October 29, 2025 order rejecting his furlough application. Furlough allows temporary release from prison but does not reduce or suspend the sentence and is usually granted to long-term inmates who have served a portion of their term.

The Nitish Katara case shocked Delhi and grabbed national attention for its brutal nature and political overtones. Katara, a young business executive, was kidnapped from a wedding party on the night of February 16-17, 2002 and murdered by Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal Yadav . The crime was allegedly motivated by Katara’s relationship with Bharti Yadav , Vikas’s sister, which reportedly crossed caste lines.

On October 3, 2016 , the Supreme Court sentenced Vikas and Vishal Yadav to 25 years in prison without remission, while co-accused Sukhdev Yadav received 20 years . The court held them guilty of kidnapping and murdering Katara , emphasizing the premeditated and violent nature of the crime.

Vikas Yadav is the son of Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav , and the case drew widespread media attention because of the family’s political connections and the brutal manner of the killing. The Delhi High Court’s ruling reinforces that furlough cannot be granted to inmates serving long-term sentences without remission, upholding the severity of the original judgment.