Saturday, July 7, 2007

Trial court seeks more time to conclude Nitish Katara case


New Delhi, July 03: The sessions court hearing the Nitish Katara murder case has approached the Delhi High Court seeking extention of the timeframe for completion of trial after it failed to meet the deadline of May 31.

The High Court on February one had instructed the trial court to complete the entire proceedings of the case within four months.

With recording of evidence of defence witnesses still at the initial stage, Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur filed an application before the high court seeking more time to conclude the trial of the case.

Justice B N Chaturvedi before whom the matter was listed, posted the hearing for July 26, the day the bail application of main accused Vikas Yaadav will be taken for adjudication. The High Court on February 1, while refusing to grant bail to Vikas, son of controversial Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav, had observed that the trial was at fag end and "equities can be balanced by directing the trial court to dispose of the matter within a stipulated time frame".

Neelam Katara, the mother of the victim, said there has been delay in the recording of evidence after the deposition of key witness Bharti Yadav, as the proceedings have been adjourned regularly, primarily on the medical ground raised by some other witnesses including the elder sister of the accused.