Surendra Koli to be acquitted by Supreme Court in Nithari killings case? A revisit to ‘house of horrors’

The Supreme Court reserved its verdict on Surendra Koli's curative petition against his death sentence in the Nithari murder cases.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a curative petition filed by Surendra Koli, challenging his conviction and death sentence in one of the Nithari murder cases, observing that his plea "deserves to be allowed”.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday indicated that Surendra Koli, a domestic help at businessman Moninder Singh's Pandher's house in Noida's Nithari, may be acquitted in the only remaining case where his conviction still stands. (PTI file)

The top court indicated that Surendra Koli, a domestic help at businessman Moninder Singh's Pandher's house in Noida's Nithari, may be acquitted in the only remaining case where his conviction still stands.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath heard Koli’s plea in open court.

“Will this not be anomalous?” the bench asked. “If on the same set of facts this court has acquitted him in other cases, and he is convicted in this one on the same evidence — will this not be a travesty of justice?”

What is the Nithari killings case?

1. Discovery of the crime in 2006: The Nithari killings came to light on December 29, 2006, when skeletal remains of eight children were found in a drain behind businessman Moninder Singh Pandher’s house (D-5 bungalow) in Noida’s Nithari village.
2. Recovery of more skulls, bones, and body parts: Further searches around Pandher’s residence led to the recovery of more skulls, bones, and body parts, mostly belonging to poor children and young women who had gone missing from the area.
3. Arrests and CBI probe: Pandher and his domestic help Surinder Koli were arrested on December 29, 2006. The case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on January 11, 2007, which later filed 16 charge sheets in as many cases.
4. Nature of crimes: The killings were among India’s most gruesome serial murders, involving allegations of rape, cannibalism, and organ trade, though some of these claims were never conclusively proven in court.
5. Charges against accused: Koli was chargesheeted in all 16 cases, while Pandher was initially booked under the Immoral Trafficking Act and later named as a co-accused in five more cases.
6. Convictions and sentences: Koli was convicted in several cases, including the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl, for which he was sentenced to death in 2011. Pandher, too, received death sentences in multiple cases.
7. Twist in the case: In 2015, the Allahabad high court commuted Koli’s death sentence to life imprisonment, citing delays in his mercy petition. Over the years, both Koli and Pandher were acquitted in multiple cases due to insufficient evidence.
8. Allahabad high court acquittal: On October 16, 2023, the Allahabad high court acquitted both Koli and Pandher in all remaining Nithari cases, sharply criticising the CBI probe for violating “basic norms of evidence collection".
9. Supreme Court’s stand: The CBI and the victims’ families later challenged these acquittals before the Supreme Court, but the top court dismissed all 14 appeals on July 30 this year.
10. Latest development: The Supreme Court recently heard Koli’s curative plea in his last pending case and indicated that his conviction may be overturned, noting the “anomalous situation” of him being acquitted in all similar cases. If allowed, Koli will be a free man after nearly 19 years in prison.