SC acquits Surendra Koli in one Nithari case, orders release if not wanted in others

The Supreme Court on Tuesday acquitted Surendra Koli in one of the remaining Nithari murder cases, allowing his curative petition and clearing the way for his release, provided he is not required in any other matter. Koli had already been acquitted in multiple related Nithari killings over the past decade.

The Nithari case first came to light on 29 December 2006, when skeletal remains of eight children were recovered from a drain behind the Noida residence of businessman Moninder Singh Pandher. Koli, employed as a domestic worker at Pandher’s home, was subsequently arrested and charged in several cases.

A bench of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath delivered Tuesday’s order after hearing the curative petition in open court. “For the reasons recorded above, the curative petition is allowed,” Justice Nath said while pronouncing the judgment. The bench also set aside Koli’s sentence and fine, directing his immediate release if not wanted in any other proceeding.

Koli had been convicted for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl, with the Supreme Court upholding the conviction in February 2011. His review petition was dismissed in 2014.

In January 2015, the Allahabad High Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment, noting delays in the disposal of his mercy plea. In October 2023, the High Court acquitted both Koli and Pandher in several other Nithari cases, overturning the 2017 trial court verdicts. Koli was cleared in 12 cases and Pandher in two.

The CBI and families of the victims challenged those acquittals, but the Supreme Court dismissed all 14 appeals on 30 July this year.

On 7 October, the Court reserved its verdict on Koli’s curative petition, noting that an “anomalous situation” had arisen since he had been acquitted in every other connected case. The bench also observed that the conviction in the present matter rested largely on a statement and the recovery of a kitchen knife, raising concerns over the sufficiency of evidence.

The CBI had taken over the investigations in 2006, later recovering additional human remains from the vicinity of Pandher’s residence.

With PTI inputs