Nithari killings: SC agrees to hear plea of victim’s father against Koli acquittal

REVERSING DEATH sentence given to Koli in 12 cases and Pandher in two, high court noted prosecution had failed to prove guilt of both the accused “beyond reasonable doubt”

New Delhi, May 4: The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea challenging the Allahabad high court’s order acquitting Surendra Koli in the 2006 Nithari serial killings case. A bench of Justice B.R. Gavai, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sandeep Mehta issued a notice on an appeal filed by one Pappu Lal, the father of one of the victims.

Senior advocate Geeta Luthra and advocates Rupesh Kumar Sinha and Sataroop Das, appearing for Mr Lal, submitted that the high court erred in its finding.

The bench issued the notice and sought the response of Koli on Mr Lal’s plea and directed the registry to call for records from the trial court and the high court.

In his plea, Mr Lal challenged the high court’s October 16 order and has arrayed only Koli as the party. Koli was the domestic help of Moninder Singh Pandher.

In the case of Mr Lal, Pandher was acquitted by the sessions court while Koli was awarded the death penalty on September 28, 2010. The case was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

On October 16, the high court pronounced verdicts on several appeals filed by Koli and Pandher, who were awarded the death penalty by the trial court.

It acquitted the pair while holding that the prosecution failed to prove the guilt “beyond reasonable doubt” and that the investigation was “botched up”.

The verdict brought back memories of the chilling crime targeting children that came to light after skeletal remains were found behind a bungalow in Noida.

Reversing the death sentence given to Koli in 12 cases and Pandher in two, the high court noted the prosecution had failed to prove the guilt of both the accused “beyond reasonable doubt, on the settled parameters of a case based on circumstantial evidence” and that the probe was “nothing short of a betrayal of public trust by responsible agencies”.