Nitish Katara case: Vikas Yadav and Vishal Yadav sentenced to 25 years in prison. SC also sentences Sukhdev Pehalwan to 20 years in prison. All three convicts get five-year remission with their sentences running concurrently.


A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and C Nagappan pronounced the verdict on the appeals filed by Vikas and Vishal against the Delhi High Court order which had enhanced the life term to 25 years in jail without remission and an additional five years for destruction of evidence in the case by terming the murder of Katara as 'honour killing'.


Nitish Katara's mother Neelam Katara says she hopes the SC will not reduce the quantum of punishment.


Yadavs' acquaintance Sukhdev Yadav alias Pehelwan was also awarded an enhanced life sentence of 25 years without remission by the court which held that the crime fell in 'rarest of rare category', but saved them from the gallows saying possibility of their reformation and rehabilitation is not 'unforseeably foreclosed'.


The Supreme Court had on August 17, 2015, upheld the conviction of Vikas, Vishal and Sukhdev, saying 'only criminals are crying for justice' in this country.While upholding the conviction, the apex court had said that it will separately consider hearing pleas on the limited aspect relating to enhancement of quantum of sentence of the three convicts by the High Court.


File pic of Vikas Yadav