The Supreme Court ruled that the word “peremptorily” has no special importance in the Nithari killings case. It stressed that court decisions should be based on meaning, not just words. The judgment highlights the need for clear legal language. This comes as the case continues to be closely watched.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court expressed its frustration regarding the handling of the appeals challenging Surendra Koli’s acquittal in the 2006 Nithari serial killings case.
The court noted,
“There is no sanctity to the word peremptorily,”
The CBI and the Uttar Pradesh government requested additional time to present their arguments.
During the hearing, Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih highlighted that the court had previously ordered, “Peremptorily, list these matters on April 3 (high up on the board).”
When a counsel for the father of one of the victims requested more time to argue, Justice Gavai emphasized that such requests should have been made earlier, as it inconvenienced lawyers traveling from out of town.
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Koli and his associate, Moninder Singh Pandher, were implicated in the rape and murder of numerous children from their neighborhood in Nithari, Uttar Pradesh.
Koli initially sentenced to death on September 28, 2010, by the trial court. Along with his employer, Moninder Singh Pandher, Koli accused of the rape and murder of individuals, primarily children from their neighborhood in Nithari, Uttar Pradesh.
The high court later acquitted both men, stating that the prosecution had failed to prove their guilt “beyond reasonable doubt” and described the investigation as “botched up.”
In reversing the death sentences given to Koli in 12 cases and to Pandher in two, the high court criticized the investigation as “nothing short of a betrayal of public trust by responsible agencies.”
It allowed multiple appeals from Koli and Pandher, who contested the death sentences imposed by a CBI court in Ghaziabad. A total of 19 cases were filed against the pair in 2007, with the CBI eventually submitting closure reports in three cases due to insufficient evidence. Koli was acquitted in three of the 16 remaining cases, and his death sentence in one case was commuted to life imprisonment.
The shocking killings uncovered when the skeletal remains of eight children found in a drain behind Pandher’s residence in Nithari, Noida, near the national capital, on December 29, 2006. Further excavation and searches in the drains around the area led to the discovery of additional skeletal remains, most of which 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 recovery of more remains.
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.
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.
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