SC to review Allahabad High Court’s acquittal of Nithari murder suspect Surendra Koli | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The High Council Monday agreed to hear the petitions filed by the CBI, seeking the Allahabad High Courtthe judgment that acquitted Surendra Koli in the infamous Nithari serial killings case of 2006.
A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan sought Koli’s response on the separate pleas filed by the CBI challenging the October 16, 2023, order of the Supreme Court.
In May, the Supreme Court had agreed to hear a petition filed by the father of one of the victims, challenging the high court order. The court said the CBI’s pleas would be heard along with this petition.
The gruesome murders came to light on December 29, 2006, when the skeletal remains of eight children were discovered in a drain behind a house in Nithari, Noida, bordering the national capital. Further excavation and searching of drains near the house revealed more skeletal remains. Most of these remains belonged to underprivileged children and young women who had gone missing from the area. The CBI took over the case within 10 days and their search led to the recovery of more remains.
The Allahabad High Court has quashed the convictions of Moninder Singh Pandher and his servant Surinder Koli in the infamous Nithari serial murder case. The gruesome crimes, which took place between 2005 and 2006 at Pandher’s house in Sector-31 of Noida, near Nithari village in Uttar Pradesh, India, had earlier resulted in the death penalty for both men.
The Nithari case has shocked the nation and led to widespread public outrage. Parents of the missing victims expressed anger over the safety of their children and the performance of the justice system, which has resulted in significant delays in delivering justice.
The trial dragged on for several years, starting in 2006. It was only in 2023 that the Allahabad High Court acquitted Surinder Koli in 12 cases relating to the Nithari serial killings.