Nitish Katara murder: SC rejects plea for death sentence to three

Written by Utkarsh Anand |New Delhi |Updated: October 3, 2016 2:57:13 pm

"If it is not planned, strictly speaking it will not be murder. If it is in heat of the moment, it will come under exception clause of Section 300 (murder),” observed the court.

“It is a murder and just that… like most murders happen to be,” observed the Supreme Court as it refused to hand out the death sentence to the three convicts in the Nitish Katara murder case. Rejecting a plea by Katara’s mother, Neelam, the top court said convicts Vikas and Vishal Yadav — who are cousins — and Sukhdev Pehelwan cannot be given the death sentence nor can they be incarcerated for life since the offence was not a matter of honour killing or committed in a heinous manner. “Nobody can relieve the pain of a mother when a child is lost. It is too big a pain to be relieved by anything or any order. But you will have to show to us how this is heinous? How can this be brought under the rarest of rare category?” said a bench of Justice J S Khehar and Justice R Banumati.

Nitish Katara’s mother Neelam at the Delhi High Court. (Source: Express photo by Anil Sharma)

“It (murder) may be planned but it certainly is not heinous. And every murder is planned. Tell us which murder is not planned? If it is not planned, strictly speaking it will not be murder. If it is in heat of the moment, it will come under exception clause of Section 300 (murder),” observed the court. It added, “What has happened is not condonable but they don’t deserve death for this… not even full life.” The cousins have been sentenced to 30 years in jail by the Delhi High Court for the executive’s murder. After the court order, Neelam told The Indian Express, “I respect the court’s decision. Perhaps we failed in putting across our points clearly. We will come prepared with more facts next time but this fight shall continue. Today’s order has given me more strength to fight.”

During the hearing, the bench had asked senior advocate Harish Salve, who appeared for Neelam, to demonstrate as to why the punishment of death was the only fitting sentence. Salve sought to convince the bench that Nitish – who was 25 years when the incident happened – was taken away from a wedding party in Ghaziabad by Vikas and Vishal and brutally done to death in cold blood. Nitish was reportedly in a relationship with Bharti Yadav, daughter of UP politician D P Yadav and Vikas’s sister. “If this is not rarest of rare then what else could be? The victim was picked up from a party where he was seen with the girl and was killed… It is an honour killing since the family did not want the boy to be in a relationship with this girl,” argued Salve. The bench, however, shot down the honour killing argument. It noted the records of the case which showed that both families appeared to know about their relationship and there was no plausible reason why the girl’s family could have objections when Nitish was also from a good family.

It observed that Bharti had invited Nitish for her sister’s wedding in the knowledge of her family and the cousins got enraged after seeing them together on the dance floor. When Salve pointed out that Nitish’s body was burnt after killing him, the bench said, “It was a corpse that was burnt. Show us if the victim was killed in a heinous manner such as his body was cut into pieces when he was alive. something abhorrent. Here he was killed in one blow (of a hammer). The body charred was corpse. This will eventually be under Section 201 (destruction of evidence).” Salve then asked the court to underscore that a youngster was killed. The bench replied, “Yes. A youngster was killed by youngsters. They (cousins) were also really young when they did it. It is all emotional. They saw them dancing together, kept a grudge in their heart and took the boy away and killed him.”

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/nitish-katara-killing-supreme-court-declines-death-sentence-plea/ (Accessed on 19 December 2018)

Katara killers argue against death penalty

Abhinav Garg, TNN | Sep 30, 2014, 02.18AM IST

NEW DELHI: Faced with the prospect of being hanged, Nitish Katara's killers Vikas Yadav and Vishal began their arguments against the death penalty before the Delhi high court on Monday. A bench of Justices Gita Mittal and J R Midha heard arguments on behalf of Yadav by his lawyer Sumeet Verma who opposed demand for death penalty on several grounds. Verma maintained that the crime in question can't be categorized as a heinous offence meriting a rarest of rare punishment. He pointed out that Nitish's death occurred due to single hammer blow and can't under no circumstances can it be categorized as brutal or heinous more so since there was no other injury on the victim's body.

The defence also argued that the convicts have been behind bars for 12 years and their conduct in jail gives no reason to believe they can't be reformed. Police and Katara's mother, Neelam, have demanded death penalty for the three accused in the case that Yadav and the two other accused deserve death penaltyas the offence was "pre-meditated" and committed in a "cold-blooded" manner. "The convicts (Vikas, Vishal and Sukhdev Pehalwan), in furtherance of their common intention, murdered the victim Nitish Katara in a cold-blooded, planned and pre-meditated manner, without any provocation," the prosecution has argued.

"The burning of the body after killing the deceased and leaving it without any clothes demonstrated a depraved state of mind and lack of remorse as the accused displayed no respect even for the human body," the police said earlier. The Delhi police and the victim Nitish's mother Neelam Katara are seeking capital punishment or an enhanced life sentence for Vikas, Vishal Yadav and Sukhdev Pehalwan. While seeking the gallows for the three convicts, Police further said that the age of the convicts should not be a mitigating factor for not awarding death penalty.

Vikas, Vishal and Sukhdev Pehalwan are serving life term for abducting and killing Nitish Katara, a business executive and son of an IAS officer, on the intervening night of February 16-17, 2002. They did not approve of the victim's affair with Bharti, sister of Vikas.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Katara-killers-argue-against-death-penalty/articleshow/43839600.cms [last accessed 06.02.2015]

Nithari Killer Koli's Death Sentence Stayed Till Oct 29

By PTI Published: 12th September 2014 12:14 PM Last Updated: 12th September 2014 12:15 PM NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today extended till October 29 the stay on execution of death sentence of Nithari rapist-cum-serial killer Surinder Koli. A bench headed by justice H L Dattu posted the case for hearing on October 29, on Koli's plea seeking review of apex court's verdict upholding his conviction and death sentence in one of the murder cases. On September 8, the bench, also comprising justice A R Dave, had stayed the execution of death sentence of Koli for killing children in a house in Nithari village in Noida near here in 2006, for a period of one week. Also Read: Surinder Koli's Mother Meets Him in Jail after Eight Years Midnight Order Postpones Nithari Killer's Death Sentence The plea on behalf of 42-year-old Koli was moved by a team of lawyers led by senior advocate Indira Jaising and was mentioned before the bench after midnight and the order was passed at 1:40 AM, hours before his execution. Koli was to be hanged on the early morning of September 8, in Meerut jail, where he has been kept in a high-security barrack. The lawyers had sought review of the apex court's July 24, 2014 order dismissing the plea to stay the execution of death sentence awarded to Koli. While seeking stay of execution of the capital punishment, Jaising, along with advocate Yug Choudhary and others, had referred to the September 2 verdict of the apex court in which it had held that the review plea of condemned prisoners must be given an open court hearing. Source:http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Nithari-Killer-Kolis-Death-Sentence-Stayed-Till-Oct-29/2014/09/12/article2427450.ece [last accessed 06.02.2015]

Court Issues Death Warrant Against Surinder Koli in Nithari Case

India | Press Trust of India | Updated: September 04, 2014 08:33 IST 

GHAZIABAD: In a fresh development in Nithari serial murder cases, Ghaziabad sessions court has issued death warrant against Surinder Koli in connection with the brutal killing of 14-year-old Rimpa Halder. CBI sources said today that a death warrant was issued by Additional sessions Judge Atul Kumar Gupta in the name of Koli that he should be hanged to death after the convict exhausted all his legal remedies in this case. The death warrant has been sent to the Uttar Pradesh government for making necessary preparations for execution of 42-year-old Koli, who has been sentenced to death in four other cases. Koli has been lodged in a Ghaziabad jail. 

The sources said the court had fixed September 12 as the date of hanging but the final date can be reworked with the UP administration. RELATED Nitish Katara's Killers Won't Hang, But Jail Sentence is Made Tougher Nitish Katara Murder Case: High Court Likely to Pronounce Quantum of Sentence Today Sunanda Pushkar Murder Case: Son Shiv Menon Questioned For Nearly 8 Hours Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier recommended to President Pranab Mukherjee that Koli's mercy plea be rejected barely a month after he had taken over as the minister. The President, exercising his powers, rejected the mercy petition on July 27, thereby paving the way for the judicial process to commence for hanging of Koli. It was not immediately clear whether Koli would be hanged as already 11 cases of murder were pending against him. 

CBI had filed chargesheet against him in 16 cases where he had allegedly killed children after sexually abusing them. The case came to light in December 2006 when a girl who was found missing was found murdered later by Koli. Investigations into the case led the probe team into more gruesome murders of children and their skeletal remains were recovered from a drain adjacent to the house where Koli was working as a domestic servant. Koli, who brutally killed and later axed children in Nithari locality of Noida in Uttar Pradesh, was awarded death sentence by a lower court which was upheld by the Allahabad High Court and confirmed by the Supreme Court on February 15, 2011 for the murder of Rimpa Halder in 2005. Holding that Koli "appears to be the serial killer", the court had said, "No mercy can be shown to him." 

A total of 16 cases were registered against Koli. His employer Moninder Singh Pandher, who was also sentenced to death in Rimpa Haldar case, was acquitted by the Allahabad High Court. Out of 16 cases filed against Koli, he has been awarded death sentence in five of them so far and others are still under trial. Koli had given a graphic detail during his confessional statement where he had claimed to have even cut some of his victims and even cooked it. He also stated that he had sex with some of the victims after killing them. Relying upon the Koli's confessional statement of how he used to allure and kill young girls in Noida, the Supreme court, while rejecting his mercy petition, had said, "The confessions had been made voluntarily before the magistrate and there is no defect in it." 

Source: http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/court-issues-death-warrant-against-surinder-koli-in-nithari-case-658829 [last accessed 06.02.2015]

Nitish Katara murder case: Mother seeks death for convicts

Jul 04, 2014 at 07:52pm IST

Press Trust of India

New Delhi: The mother of Nitish Katara, who was abducted and killed in 2002, on Friday sought death penalty for the three convicts including UP politician DP Yadav's son Vikas saying they were a "menace to the society and there was no chance of their reformation or rehabilitation". Neelam Katara's counsel, during his arguments on the sentence before a special bench of justices Gita Mittal and JR Midha, said that the convicts have also committed several offences while remaining behind the bars, which showed no remorse and repentance on their part. "From 2002 to 2013, they (convicts) committed over eleven offences, which shows no remorse and repentance. They committed these offences while remaining in custody. This shows that there is no chance of their reformation and rehabilitation.

"I am placing material which prove they are a menace to the society and that itself will establish that there is no possibility of their reformation. So, the only option is death sentence," advocate PK Dey, appearing for Neelam, told the bench. Seeking enhancement of the sentence of life term to death penalty, the counsel argued the eleven offences committed by them are not only criminal in nature but it was a direct interference with the judicial administration. Referring to Vishal, the counsel said while remaining in jail, he and other convicts have threatened the prosecution and even tried to destroy the evidence in the case, which suggests Vishal has no remorse and repentance.

Dey argued the convicts have committed the crime of honour killing which comes under the category of the "rarest of rare" and they can neither be reformed nor rehabilitated as they are habitual offenders. The arguments which remained inconclusive will continue on July 11. During the hearing, Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DLSA) OSD SS Rathi, who was asked by the high court to enquire about the convicts' capacity to pay compensation to the victims or their families, gave the report. Rathi in his report said the "total expenditure incurred on this case by the exchequer is Rs 5.86 crores". Giving details of the expenses, Rathi said that the then Special Public Prosecutor B S Joon in the case has apprised that the cost of investigation in the matter was around Rs two lakh in the year 2002.

"As such, the total approximate cost from the prosecution department side comes to Rs 46.71 lakh. Total expenditure in the Witness Protection head comes to Rs 3.89 crores till date. "Total expenditure incurred by District Judiciary as well as High Court registry is estimated to be Rs 73-74 lakh. All expenses incurred by the Jail Administration in providing boarding and lodging of accused/convicts is Rs 35.60 lakh," the report reads. It said the expenses incurred in transportation, security and manpower for the three convicts from jail to court/hospitals during trial and thereafter is Rs 39.95 lakh. In pursuance of a Supreme Court order, the Delhi High Court had said three convicts will have to pay compensation to the family of Nitish.

The apex court had in a landmark verdict in Ankush Shivaji Gaikwad Vs UOI case, said that under Section 357 of the Criminal Procedure Code, courts dealing with criminal offences are bound to consider granting compensation to the victims or their families. Vikas, Vishal and Sukhdev Pehalwan are serving life term for abducting and killing Nitish Katara, a business executive and son of an IAS officer, on the intervening night of February 16-17, 2002. They did not approve of the victim's affair with Bharti, daughter of DP Yadav. The High Court had on April 2 upheld the verdict of the lower court in the case by describing the offence as "honour killing" stemming from a "deeply entrenched belief" in caste system.

Nitish Katara was abducted and killed by Vikas, his cousin Vishal Yadav and co-convict Sukhdev Pehalwan as they did not approve of victim's affair with Bharti, daughter of DP Yadav, as they belong to different castes, the court had said. The high court had dismissed the appeals of the convicts and kept pending two separate pleas of the state and Neelam Katara seeking death penalty for them.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/nitish-katara-murder-case-mother-seeks-death-for-convicts/483753-3-244.html [last accessed 06.02.2015]