NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Monday took exception to Delhi govt’s stand that a convict, sentenced to life imprisonment with 20 years of jail term without remission, could not be released even after completion of the period.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan expressed surprise over the oral submission made by the Delhi govt counsel in the case of convict Sukhdev Yadav alisa Pehalwan in the Nitish Katara murder case and asked that it be said on oath in an affidavit. It said the govt’s stand might amount to contempt of the court’s order which awarded a 20-year jail term.
SC: 20-year jail terms would become meaningless if state takes such stand
How can a govt take such a stand? Twenty-year jail terms would become meaningless. The court had said 20-year imprisonment and now the state is saying he cannot be released even after 20 years,” the bench said.
The court was hearing a plea by Sukhdev Yadav alias Pehalwan who was sentenced to life imprisonment with a caveat that it shall be 20 years of actual imprisonment without consideration of remission. He was convicted in the 2002 Nitish Katara murder case and had filed a petition seeking furlough. As his jail term is about to get over in a few weeks, the court sought the state’s response on when he could be released from jail.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, appearing for Nitish’s mother Neelam Katara, said it was a life sentence with 20 years without remission which meant that the convict could be eligible for remission after 20 years.
The bench, however, was not convinced and disapproved of the state govt’s stand on the issue relating to freedom. “This is the concept of liberty for the state? We will deal with it. Let your home secretary take a stand on oath after taking legal opinion. If needed we can haul up your home secretary,” the bench said.
On Oct 3, 2016, Supreme Court had awarded 25-year jail term without any benefit of remission to Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal for their role in the kidnapping and killing of Nitish Katara. Co-convict Sukhdev Yadav was handed down a 20-year jail term in the case.
Earlier, Delhi high court, while upholding the life imprisonment awarded to Vikas and Vishal Yadav by the trial court, had specified a 30-year sentence, without any remission, to the two. It had awarded 25-year jail term to Sukhdev Yadav.
All three were convicted and sentenced for kidnapping Nitish from a marriage party on the night of Feb 16, 2002, and killing him for his alleged affair with Bharti Yadav, Vikas’s sister. Bharti is the daughter of Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav who is in jail in connection with another murder case.