'Free convicts who've completed...sentences immediately': SC in Nitish Katara case
What's the story
The Supreme Court has ordered the immediate release of convicts who have completed their sentences in the 2002 Nitish Katara murder case. The directive was issued to the home secretaries of all states and Union Territories, asking them to identify such individuals and release them if they are not wanted in any other case. The order was passed while hearing a plea by Sukhdev Yadav, alias Pehalwan, who had finished his 20-year sentence in March.
Release order
Pehalwan's release ordered
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and KV Viswanathan ordered the release of Pehalwan, even without considering remission. The court also directed that its order be sent to the Member Secretary of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) for communication to District Legal Services Authorities across India. While issuing the order, the court expressed concern for others who might still be in jail despite having completed their sentence, saying, "If this attitude continues, every convict will die in jail."
Order
Continuous incarceration of appellant illegal: SC
"In this case, the actual sentence was completed without remission, and therefore he had to be released from jail. The sentence review board can't sit in judgment, which has been judicially determined by the High Court," the bench observed. "There can't be any further incarceration of the appellant herein from 9.3.2025 onwards. The continuous incarceration of the appellant was illegal. In fact, on 10.03.2025, the appellant ought to have been released, as he had completed his sentence," the court said.
Case background
Nitish Katara murder case
The 2002 Nitish Katara murder case involved the kidnapping and killing of Katara from a marriage party by former cabinet minister DP Yadav's son Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal Yadav. They had carried out the crime over Katar's alleged affair with Vikas' sister, Bharti Yadav. They were sentenced to 25 years in prison without remission by the SC on October 3, 2016. Pehalwan was also convicted and sentenced to 20 years.