The Supreme Court on Tuesday acquitted Surendra Koli, the domestic help once labelled the “monster of Nithari", in the final pending case and ordered his immediate release.
The ruling in the nearly two-decade-old case means that both Koli and his employer and businessman Moninder Singh Pandher, have now been cleared of all criminal charges linked to the infamous Nithari killings that took place between 2005 and 2006 in Noida's Sector 31, at the now-infamous D-5 bungalow.
The Nithari Killings
In December 2006, police found 16 human skulls, bones, and clothing stuffed in plastic sacks behind a drain next to the D-5 bungalow in Sector 31.
Locals had long complained of missing children, mostly from poor labour families, in the nearby Nithari village, but their concerns were allegedly brushed aside by the police. It was only after the disappearance of a young woman named Payal that the police traced her mobile phone to a local rickshaw puller, who claimed to have received it from someone at D-5.
When officers reached the house, they stumbled upon evidence that would reveal what was initially believed to be a serial killing and cannibalism ring.
Rumours spread quickly that children had been lured, killed, dismembered, and even cooked. Soon after, the house's owner Pandher and his domestic help Koli were arrested.
The Allegations And The Horror Stories
According to the initial investigation, Koli confessed to kidnapping children, sexually assaulting them, and disposing of their bodies in the drain behind the bungalow. Some reports even claimed that body parts were eaten or sold, though no conclusive forensic evidence ever substantiated these allegations.
Both Koli and Pandher were charged with rape, murder and destruction of evidence under multiple FIRs. Between 2007 and 2010, 19 cases were filed by the CBI.
Koli was sentenced to death in several cases, while Pandher received both death and life sentences in others. As the cases moved through appeals, inconsistencies and procedural lapses began to surface.
A Botched Investigation
In 2023, the Allahabad High Court tore apart the prosecution's narrative, calling the probe “nothing short of a betrayal of public trust.”
The Court pointed to multiple investigative failures:
- The crime scene was never secured before excavation began.
- The alleged confession by Koli was not recorded properly under law.
- Contradictory details appeared in remand papers.
- Forensic evidence was either missing, contaminated, or inconclusive.
- The alleged recoveries, including the skulls and bones, were found in an open drain, accessible to all, making their evidentiary value weak.
- Investigators failed to question crucial witnesses and ignored the organ trade angle raised by an early government committee.
The High Court eventually acquitted both men in October 2023, citing lack of credible evidence. The CBI, along with the Uttar Pradesh government and the victims' families, challenged the decision before the Supreme Court.
What The Supreme Court Said
In its November 11 verdict, a bench comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai, and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath delivered an assessment of the investigation and the trial process. “Criminal law does not permit conviction on conjecture or hunch,” the bench said, as per Live Law.
The Supreme Court, while acknowledging the “heinous nature” of the crimes, said that “suspicion, however grave, cannot replace proof beyond reasonable doubt.” It criticised the investigation as flawed, negligent, and constitutionally unsound, saying that the real perpetrators remain unidentified.
“Courts cannot prefer expediency over legality,” the top court said, adding that Article 21 of the Constitution, guaranteeing a fair procedure, was violated in the process leading to Koli's earlier conviction.
