The Supreme Court has consented to hear an appeal against the acquittal of Surendra Koli in the infamous 2006 Nithari serial killings. The plea, filed by Pappu Lal, the father of one of the victims, challenges the Allahabad High Court’s decision which had acquitted Koli, questioning the handling and findings of the high court.
Justices BR Gavai, Satish Chandra Sharma, and Sandeep Mehta have issued notices in response to Lal’s appeal and have sought Koli’s reply, directing the registry to retrieve records from both the trial court and the high court for review.
The case, deeply etched in public memory for its gruesome nature, involved the murder and alleged sexual assault of several children, with findings of skeletal remains behind a bungalow in Noida, sparking widespread horror and outrage. Koli, who was the domestic help of Moninder Singh Pandher, initially received the death penalty in September 2010 for his involvement.
However, on October 16, the Allahabad High Court reversed this sentence for both Pandher and Koli, citing failures in the prosecution to establish their guilt “beyond reasonable doubt” and criticizing the investigation as a “betrayal of public trust.” The court pointed out procedural lapses in handling the confessional statement of Koli and the recovery of biological remains, which led to significant doubts over the evidence’s integrity.
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The High Court’s verdict also noted inconsistencies in the prosecution’s approach, initially attributing the recoveries jointly to Pandher and Koli, but later shifting the burden of guilt solely onto Koli. This shift and the subsequent acquittal in 12 cases against Koli, with three other cases resulting in a lack of evidence, have brought the judicial process under scrutiny.
