Nithari Killings: SC reserves verdict on convict Surendra Koli's curative petition

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on Surendra Koli’s curative petition challenging his conviction and death sentence in one of the Nithari killings cases, saying his petition "deserves to be allowed”.

A judicially-devised mechanism in Rupa Ashok Hurra v Ashok Hurra in 2002, curative petitions are considered to be the last hope for a litigant to get justice. Generally, a curative petition is not taken up in open court and is entertained on the grounds of violation of principles of natural justice. It’s heard by circulation among the members of the Bench. However, in exceptional cases, the top court can grant an open court hearing.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Vikram Nath – which granted an open court hearing to Koli, noted that an anomalous situation had arisen following his acquittal in all other related cases and that the petition deserved to be allowed.

“It deserves to be allowed in a minute,” the Bench told Additional Solicitor General Rajkumar Bhaskar Thakare who represented the CBI.

Koli’s conviction was largely based on a statement and the recovery of a kitchen knife, raising questions about the sufficiency of evidence, it noted.

If his curative petition was allowed, Koli will walk free as he had already been acquitted in other Nithari killings cases.

The gruesome killings came to light following the discovery of the skeletal remains of eight children from a drain behind Moninder Pandher’s house at Nithari in Noida near Delhi on December 29, 2006. Further digging and searches of drains in the area around Pandher’s house led to more skeletal remains being found. Most of these remains were those of poor children and young women who had gone missing from the area. Within 10 days, the CBI took over the case and its search resulted in the recovery of more bones. There were 19 cases lodged against Pandher and Koli in 2007.

Koli was convicted of rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Nithari village in Noida adjoining Delhi, and his conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court in February 2011. His review petition was dismissed in 2014.

In January 2015, the Allahabad High Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment on account of inordinate delay in deciding his mercy petition. In October 2023, the Allahabad High Court acquitted Koli and co-accused Moninder Pandher in several other Nithari killings cases, reversing the death sentences awarded by the trial court in 2017. It acquitted Koli in 12 cases and Pandher in two.

On July 30 this year, the Supreme Court upheld the Allahabad High Court’s verdict acquitting Koli and Pandher, saying "There is no perversity in the Allahabad High Court judgment."