Nitish Katara killers get what they fully deserved
The final word of the Supreme Court on the Nitish Katara murder case has come as a great relief to his family. The long wait and the ordeal faced by the Kataras since 2002, are proofs of how the politically-influential take our judicial system for a ride. The courage and patience displayed by Nitish's mother, Neelam Katara, against all odds, pursuing the case for 14 years despite the threats she allegedly faced, has finally paid off. While welcoming the verdict of the court, we must not forget to salute the sole witness Ajay Katara who dared to stand up and give his testimony. This is a rarest of rare case where an ordinary citizen stood up against a bunch of criminals belonging to a political clan. Examples like his should drive our society to fight against anti-social elements who seek to bend the established legal system. In this case, our judiciary has admirably raised its bar. And this will re-double the common man's faith in our judicial system. A Bench of Justices JS Khehar and Adarsh Kumar Goel upheld the conviction of Vikas Yadav, Vishal Yadav and Sukhdev Pehalwan. The court rightly confirmed their conviction on charges of murder, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence. Earlier, the Delhi High Court had held the murder as an honour killing which was carried out in a carefully planned and premeditated manner with an extreme form of vengeance. The so-called honour killings, generally driven by caste and religious considerations, have been a bane of our society. Indeed, it’s time we stop even classifying brutal elimination as ‘honour killing’.
The Delhi High Court had earlier given 30 years of rigorous imprisonment without any benefit of remission to both the Yadavs and 25 years to Sukhdev. But looking at the age factor of the three convicts, the apex court agreed to reconsider the quantum of sentence awarded to them. Even so, the punishment is stringent enough and sends across the appropriate message.
Meanwhile, there is a need to re-look at our political system which at times provides safe haven to criminals and tainted personalities of all sorts. DP Yadav, the father of the main accused in the case, was offered a Rajya Sabha seat when the case was at its peak in 2004 and there were talk of his throwing his weight around to help his son. He has been accused of other crimes as well. Not just that, he almost got admitted into the Samajwadi Party in 2012. But this is not the only instance. Mohammad Shahabuddin, convicted for several offences and facing trial in many more, and serving time in jail in Bihar, was elevated in the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) senior hierarchy. That the RJD continues to be led by a convict — lalu Prasad — is another shocker. In Uttar Pradesh, Quami Ekta Dal, formed and headed by the notorious muscleman Mukhtar Ansari, now behind bars, almost merged with the ruling political outfit outfit, the Samajwadi Party, but for Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s protest.