Nithari killings: Accused Surendra Koli may walk free if curative plea is allowed; case timeline | Noida News
NEW DELHI: 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 infamous Nithari murder cases. The bench observed that his plea “deserves to be allowed.” The Nithari killings came to light after skeletal remains of eight children were found in a drain behind businessman Moninder Singh Pandher’s house in Noida on 29 December 2006. A bench comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath heard Koli’s plea in open court. The judges noted that an “anomalous situation” had arisen following Koli’s acquittal in other related cases, saying the petition “deserves to be allowed.” “This matter deserves to be allowed in a minute,” CJI Gavai said while reserving the order.If the curative plea of Koli is allowed then he will be a free man as he is already acquitted in other Nithari cases. The court highlighted that the conviction in this case relied heavily on a statement and the recovery of a kitchen knife, raising questions about whether the evidence was sufficient. During the hearing, the CJI shared a light-hearted moment with additional solicitor general Rajkumar Bhaskar Thakare, representing the CBI. “Mr Thakare, as a solicitor, I expect you to be an officer of the court. I have a very good impression of you in Bombay. Let Delhi pollution not pollute you,” the CJI told him. Koli had been convicted for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Nithari. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction in February 2011, and his review plea was dismissed in 2014. In January 2015, the Allahabad High Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment, citing inordinate delay in the decision on his mercy petition. In October 2023, the Allahabad High Court acquitted Koli and co-accused Pandher in several other Nithari cases, overturning death sentences handed down by the trial court in 2017. Koli was acquitted in 12 cases, Pandher in two. The CBI and victims’ families challenged these acquittals in the Supreme Court, but on 30 July this year, a bench headed by the CJI dismissed all 14 appeals. “There is no perversity in the Allahabad High Court judgement… (the petitions are) dismissed,” the CJI said. The original Nithari investigation revealed more skeletal remains during extensive searches around Pandher’s house, mostly of poor children and young women reported missing in the area. Within 10 days, the CBI had taken over the case. Altogether, 19 cases were registered against Koli and Pandher in 2007. The CBI closed three cases due to lack of evidence. In the remaining 16, Koli was acquitted in three and his death sentence in one case had already been commuted to life imprisonment.Timeline of Nithari killings
- 7 October 2006 – The first FIR is filed by a local court, nearly five months after a 22-year-old woman goes missing in Nithari.
- 29 December 2006 – Police searching a drain next to the D-5 bungalow in Nithari recover eight skeletal remains. House owner Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic helper Surendra Koli are arrested. Subsequent searches uncover more skeletons.
- 3 January 2007 – Three senior police officers and several local cops are suspended after a two-member panel finds lapses in handling missing children cases over the previous two years.
- 10 January 2007 – The Uttar Pradesh government hands over the case to the CBI. Investigators recover more bones from the drain, though the total number of victims remains unclear. Chargesheets are filed in 16 cases covering rape, murder, abduction, criminal conspiracy, and trafficking.
- 1 March 2007 – Koli, in a recorded statement, confesses to sexually assaulting and murdering six children and one woman, and also admits to acts of cannibalism.
- 13 February 2009 – A CBI court delivers its first verdict, sentencing Koli and Pandher to death. Over the course of the 13-year trial, the court conducts more than 2,000 hearings.
- 24 December 2012 – Koli receives a death sentence in another case.
- 20 July 2014 – President (At that time) Pranab Mukherjee rejects Koli’s mercy petition against other death sentences.
- 24 July 2014 – The Supreme Court dismisses Koli’s review petition.
- 8 September 2014 – Koli’s counsel Indira Jaisingh files another review petition at the Supreme Court just hours before his scheduled hanging at Meerut Jail at 5:30am. A bench of justices HL Dattu and Anil R Dave convenes after midnight and stays the execution for a week. Koli’s lawyers deliver the stay order to jail authorities at 3:30am.
- 29 October 2014 – The Supreme Court bench, headed by then CJI HL Dattu, hears the review petition and rules there was no error in the earlier judgments.
- 29 January 2015 – A division bench of the Allahabad High Court, comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud (now CJI) and Justice PKS Baghel, commutes Koli’s death sentence to life imprisonment, citing “unconstitutional” delay in deciding his mercy petition.
- 2 March 2019 – Koli receives his tenth death sentence at the trial court.
- 2022 – The trial court completes hearings in all 16 Nithari cases.
- 10 September 2023 – The Allahabad High Court reserves its verdict on an appeal filed by Koli and Pandher against their convictions and death sentences.
- 16 October 2023 – The Allahabad High Court acquits Koli in 12 cases in which he had been sentenced to death. Pandher is also acquitted in two cases where he faced the death penalty.
