Delhi High Court on Friday enhanced the sentence for Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal from life imprisonment to 25 years without remission for the murder of Nitish Katara and five more years for destruction of evidence in the case.

A special bench of justices Gita Mittal and J R Midha also imposed a penalty of Rs 50 lakh each on Vikas, son of UP politician D P Yadav, and his cousin Vishal for the murder.

The court also increased the jail term of another convict Sukhdev Pehelwan to 25 years, saying all of them will have to undergo rigorous imprisonment without any remission behind bars except for the additional five years.

The judges turned down the plea moved by Nitish’s mother Neelam Katara and Delhi police seeking death sentence for the three convicts.

Nitish Katara was kidnapped and battered to death on intervening night of 16th and 17th February 2002.

Nitish’s body was later found near Hapur crossing in Khurja village in Uttar Pradesh.

The bench had on April 2, 2014 upheld the 2008 trial court judgment that sentenced the three to life imprisonment.