New Delhi. The Supreme Court today gave its verdict in the 2006 Nithari serial murder case. The Supreme Court rejected the appeals of the CBI, Uttar Pradesh government and the victim families against the order of the Allahabad High Court. The High Court acquitted the main accused Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic assistant Surendra Koli on 16 October 2023. Earlier in September 2010, the High Court had also overturned the death sentence pronounced by the lower court.
The Supreme Court dismissed 14 petitions filed against the acquittal of accused Surendra Koli. With this, the Nithari case is almost almost over. The Supreme Court said that there was no distortion in the Allahabad High Court’s decision to acquit the accused Surendra Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher. The Supreme Court also said that the skulls and other items of the victims were not recovered from Surendra Koli from Nithari’s open drain. The Supreme Court further said that only the seizures made from the place of reach of the accused can be accepted as evidence. No seizure made by the police without recording the statement of the accused is not acceptable under the evidence law.
Both Koli and Pandher were accused of misdeeds and murder along with children living in areas around Noida. On October 16, 2023, the Allahabad High Court acquitted Pandher in two cases and Koli in 12 cases. After the Supreme Court’s decision, now Moninder Pandher has got relief from all cases while Surendra Koli is still in jail in another case. Koli will be able to come out of jail only after being acquitted in this case.
