The Supreme Court on Monday scheduled a hearing for March 25 on multiple petitions challenging the acquittal of Surendra Koli, accused in the notorious 2005-06 Nithari killings.
A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih directed the court registry to promptly summon trial court records and provide copies to the legal representatives involved.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), described the case as involving “very serious and gruesome” crimes committed in Nithari, Uttar Pradesh. He emphasized the gravity of the killings and reiterated Koli’s reputation as a serial killer.
In 2024, the apex court agreed to review the appeals filed separately by the CBI, the Uttar Pradesh government, and Pappu Lal, the father of one of the victims, contesting the Allahabad High Court’s decision to acquit businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help, Koli. Mehta had earlier argued that Koli lured young girls, killed them, and was allegedly involved in acts of cannibalism. He pointed out that while the trial court initially sentenced Koli to death, the verdict was later overturned by the Allahabad High Court.
The Allahabad High Court, in October 2023, acquitted Koli in 12 cases and Pandher in two, overturning the death sentences handed down by the trial court. The CBI had registered 16 cases against the duo for the rape and murder of girls, which sent shockwaves across the nation.
The gruesome Nithari case came to light in December 2006 when human remains were found in a drain near Pandher’s house in Nithari village, Noida. Koli, who worked as Pandher’s domestic help, was the primary accused. He was charged in all the cases on counts of murder, abduction, rape, and tampering with evidence. Pandher, on the other hand, was implicated in six of the cases.
Koli was convicted by the trial court of multiple rapes and murders, resulting in death sentences in more than 10 cases. However, the acquittals by the High Court prompted a nationwide outcry, leading to the current legal battle in the Supreme Court.
The upcoming hearing is expected to be a critical step in determining whether the acquittal will be upheld or if justice will be revisited in one of India’s most chilling crime cases.
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