Vikas Yadav granted 2-hour parole

NEW DELHI: Vikas Yadav was on Thursday granted two hours' custodial parole by the Delhi high court to enable him to attend his brother's engagement on April 14.Vikas, serving a life term for murdering Nitish Katara, was granted this relief by a division bench of justices B D Ahmed and Manmohan Singh, which directed Delhi Police to take him under escort from 8pm to 10pm on April 14 to Hyatt Regency hotel for the engagement ceremony of Kunal, his younger brother.The police havebeen directed to take him back to Tihar Jail and hand him over to the jailofficials once the ceremony is over.HC gave its order on a plea byVikas seeking bail for three months on the grounds that Kunal was slated to bemarried on April 29, with various rituals related to the wedding set to beginfrom April 14, when the engagement ceremony is to be performed.Whileallowing Vikas to be taken to attend his brother's engagement, the bench said itwould hear his bail plea on April 18 after the police file their report inresponse to the bail plea.The prosecution submitted that the policeso far have collected only partial information about the marriage and otherrituals and it would be able to file the complete report within aweek.In his bail plea, Vikas, arguing through advocate SumeetPushkarna also pleaded that he would like to meet his grandfather who, being thesenior most family member, would perform the marriage ceremony.InAugust 2009, the bench, which has been hearing the appeal filed by Vikas and hiscousin Vishal Yadav, challenging their conviction by the trial court, hadrejected their bail plea, saying "although both the accused persons were incustody for past several years, their incarceration cannot be a ground by itselffor grant of bail."In May 2008, a city court had sentenced Vikas(37) and his cousin Vishal (36) for killing Nitish. According to theprosecution, Vikas and Vishal had kidnapped Katara from a marriage party inGhaziabad on the night of February 16, 2002 and killed him as they were againstNitish's intimacy with their sister Bharati Yadav.