Prayagraj: In a shocking development, the Allahabad High Court on Monday delivered its judgment in the infamous Nithari case of Noida, in which several children and women were abducted, raped and killed between 2005 and 2006. The court accepted the appeals of the two main accused, Surendra Koli and Maninder Singh Pandher, who were convicted and sentenced to death by the CBI court of Ghaziabad in multiple cases. The High Court acquitted both Koli and Pandher, setting aside the death penalty imposed by the lower court.
The High Court had been hearing the appeals of Koli and Pandher simultaneously for more than a year. The hearing lasted for 134 working days and concluded on 15 September, when the court reserved its verdict. On Monday, around 11 a.m., the division bench of Justice Ashwini Kumar Mishra and Justice SHA Rizvi pronounced the judgment, which sparked outrage among the victims’ families and the public.
The Nithari case came to light in December 2006, when human remains were discovered in a drain near Pandher’s house in Noida’s Sector 31. Pandher, a businessman, owned the house and Koli was his domestic help. The CBI took over the investigation and registered 16 cases against Koli for murder, abduction, rape and destruction of evidence. Pandher was also charge-sheeted in one case for immoral trafficking. The CBI court of Ghaziabad conducted a fast-track trial and awarded the death penalty to both Koli and Pandher in several cases. Koli had filed appeals in the High Court against the death sentence in 12 cases, while Pandher had challenged the death sentence in two cases.
The defence lawyers of Koli and Pandher argued in the High Court that there was no eyewitness or direct evidence to prove their involvement in the crimes. They claimed that they were falsely implicated and convicted on the basis of scientific and circumstantial evidence, which was not reliable or conclusive. They also raised questions on the credibility of the CBI investigation and the fairness of the trial court proceedings. They appealed to the High Court to quash the convictions and sentences of their clients.
The High Court, after examining the evidence and arguments of both sides, gave a verdict in favor of Koli and Pandher. The court observed that there were many loopholes and discrepancies in the prosecution’s case, which created reasonable doubt about the guilt of the accused. The court also noted that some of the confessions made by Koli were retracted by him later and were not corroborated by any other evidence. The court further said that Pandher was not present at his house when most of the crimes took place and there was no proof that he conspired with Koli or abetted him in any way. The court therefore acquitted both Koli and Pandher, reversing the death penalty awarded by the CBI court.
The verdict has shocked and angered many people, especially the relatives of the victims, who have been waiting for justice for more than a decade. They have expressed their dissatisfaction with the judgment and demanded that it be challenged in the Supreme Court. They have also accused the CBI of botching up the investigation and failing to secure a conviction for the accused. Some of them have also staged protests outside the High Court premises, seeking justice for their loved ones.
