A court here Tuesday dismissed an application challenging a non-bailable arrest warrant against Bharti Yadav, daughter of Rajya Sabha member D.P. Yadav.

Bharti Yadav, now in London, is one of the key witnesses in the 2001 murder of Nitish Katara, son of a senior Indian Administrative Service officer, with whom the prosecution says she had an affair.

In his order, additional sessions judge D.S. Panwaria said Bharti Yadav's plea that the warrant was against the rules framed by the Delhi High Court was not maintainable.

The prosecution was pressing for her return to India to record her statement as it thought it could be a turning point in the case.

However, counsel for Bharti Yadav has been defending her absence from the court on one pretext or the other for about two years.

Katara was kidnapped and later killed allegedly by Vikas Yadav and Vishal Yadav, son and nephew respectively of D.P. Yadav.

Police alleged the two accused killed Katara as they were against his affair with Bharti Yadav.

Panwaria also directed the prosecution to serve the non-bailable warrant on Bharti Yadav and ensure her appearance in court on Dec 18.

The judge mentioned in his order a plea by defence counsel that the accused could not languish in jail because of the prosecution's failure to produce the witness in court.

--Indo-Asian News Service