The Supreme Court agreed to hear the plea of the father of a victim in the Nithari killings case. This development comes as a significant step in seeking justice for the victims of the heinous crimes committed in Nithari. The case gained national attention for its brutality and has been a long-standing legal battle for the families affected.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court granted permission to review the Allahabad High Court‘s decision to acquit Surendra Koli in the 2006 Nithari serial killings case. A panel consisting of Justice BR Gavai, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, and Justice Sandeep Mehta acknowledged a petition filed by Pappu Lal, who is the father of one of the victims. Pappu Lal’s legal representatives, including senior advocate Geeta Luthra and advocates Rupesh Kumar Sinha and Sataroop Das, argued that the high court made an erroneous judgment.
The panel issued a notice to Surendra Koli, asking for his response to Lal’s plea. Additionally, they instructed the court registry to obtain records from both the trial court and the high court.
In his plea, Lal contested the high court’s October 16 order, naming only Koli as the opposing party. Koli had been Moninder Singh Pandher‘s domestic helper. In Lal’s case, Pandher acquitted by the sessions court, while Koli received the death penalty on September 28, 2010. The case investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). On October 16, the high court delivered verdicts on multiple appeals by Koli and Pandher, both of whom had been sentenced to death by the trial court.
The pair acquitted by the court, which stated that the prosecution did not sufficiently prove their guilt “beyond reasonable doubt” and criticized the investigation for being “mishandled.”
The verdict brought back memories of a horrific crime targeting children, which came to light when skeletal remains, discovered behind a bungalow in Noida. The High Court decision to reverse the death sentences in 12 cases for Koli and in two cases for Pandher based on the prosecution’s failure to prove their guilt “beyond reasonable doubt” using established standards for cases relying on circumstantial evidence.
The high court, highlighted that the prosecution had not convincingly established the guilt of both defendants “beyond reasonable doubt” within the established framework of circumstantial evidence. Additionally, it criticized the investigation as a “betrayal of public trust” by the authorities.
Pandher and Koli faced charges of rape and murder, receiving death penalties for the crimes which deeply shocked the nation due to the horrifying nature of the assaults, vicious killings, and indications of potential cannibalism.
The high court observed that the prosecution’s case relied on a confession made by Koli to the Uttar Pradesh Police on December 29, 2006. However, the appropriate procedure for recording his statement, which led to the discovery of biological remains such as skulls, bones, and skeletons, was completely disregarded. The court upheld multiple appeals filed by Koli and Pandher, who challenged the death sentence imposed by a CBI court in Ghaziabad.
The high court observed that the prosecution’s position underwent multiple alterations, initially implicating both Pandher and Koli in recoveries, but eventually singling out Koli as solely culpable. In total, 19 cases filed against Pandher and Koli in 2007.
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The CBI submitted closure reports in three cases due to insufficient evidence. In the remaining 16 cases, Koli previously acquitted in three, and his death sentence in one reduced to life imprisonment. The shocking killings uncovered on December 29, 2006, when the skeletal remains of eight children discovered in a drain behind Pandher’s house in Nithari, Noida, near the national capital. Further excavations and searches of drains around Pandher’s residence revealed more skeletal remains. Most of these remains belonged to impoverished children and young women who had gone missing from the area. Within 10 days, the CBI took over the investigation, leading to the discovery of additional remains.