The Supreme Court will hear petitions on March 25 against the acquittal of Surinder Koli in the notorious 2006 Nithari serial murder case. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih that the case pertains to 'extremely serious and heinous' murders in Nithari, Uttar Pradesh. Koli's lawyer argued that the evidence against their client was a confession recorded several days after Koli was in police custody.
The bench directed its registry to promptly summon the trial court records for other relevant cases and provide copies to the lawyers present. The hearing is scheduled for March 25. In 2024, the Supreme Court agreed to examine separate appeals filed by the CBI and the UP government challenging the Allahabad High Court's decision to acquit Koli on October 16, 2023. The bench had asked Koli to respond to the petitions.
Death Sentence Delivered on September 28, 2010
In May 2024, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a petition filed by the father of one of the victims against the High Court's acquittal decision. Koli was sentenced to death by the trial court on September 28, 2010. Moninder Singh Pandher and his house help, Koli, were accused of raping and murdering people, mostly children, in their neighborhood in Nithari, UP.
The High Court acquitted them of the death sentence cases, stating that the prosecution had failed to prove their guilt 'beyond a reasonable doubt,' calling it a 'poor' investigation. Overturning the death sentences for Koli in 12 cases and Pandher in two cases, the High Court remarked that the investigation was nothing short of a betrayal of public trust by the responsible agencies.
In 2007, Nineteen Cases Were Filed Against Both
The High Court accepted multiple appeals filed by Koli and Pandher, who challenged the death sentences given by a CBI court in Ghaziabad. In 2007, a total of 19 cases were filed against the duo. The CBI filed closure reports in three cases due to lack of evidence. Koli was acquitted in three out of the remaining 16 cases, and in one case, his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
On December 29, 2006, skeletons of eight children were discovered behind Pandher's house in Nithari, adjacent to the nation's capital, unveiling the murders. Further excavation and search of drains in the surrounding area led to the recovery of more skeletons, mostly belonging to children and young women who had gone missing from the area.
