Nithari killings: SC acquits Surendra Koli in last pending case, orders immediate release

The Supreme Court on Tuesday acquitted Surendra Koli, the main accused in the 2006 Nithari serial killings, and set aside his conviction in the last remaining case linked to the gruesome episode that had once shaken the nation.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai, and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath directed Koli’s release forthwith, provided he is not wanted in any other matter.

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Delivering the order, Justice Vikram Nath said, “The curative petition is allowed. The petitioner is acquitted of the charges. The petitioner shall be released forthwith.”

With this verdict, the top court has nullified Koli’s final conviction in the Nithari cases. He had already been acquitted in 12 other cases, leaving this as the only one still pending against him.

The Court allowed Koli’s curative petition challenging the Supreme Court’s 2011 judgment, which had upheld his conviction and sentence in one of the Nithari murder cases. The petition cited that the very same evidence used to convict him earlier had subsequently been disbelieved in multiple other cases, leading to his acquittal in those trials.

This ruling effectively brings closure to all criminal proceedings against Koli. In July 2024, the apex court had dismissed appeals filed by the CBI, the Uttar Pradesh government, and victims’ families against the Allahabad High Court’s decision acquitting Koli and his employer, Moninder Singh Pandher, in several other Nithari cases.

The Allahabad High Court, in its October 16, 2023, judgment, had overturned the trial court’s September 2010 verdict that sentenced both Koli and Pandher to death. The High Court had acquitted Koli in 12 cases and Pandher in two, observing that the prosecution’s evidence was insufficient to sustain their convictions.

The CBI had originally registered 16 cases against Koli and Pandher relating to the abduction, rape, and murder of several girls and young women in Noida’s Nithari village during 2005–2006. The case first came to light in December 2006, when human remains were found in a drain behind Pandher’s residence, horrifying the country and leading to widespread outrage.

Koli, who worked as Pandher’s domestic help, was charged in all 16 cases for offences including murder, abduction, rape, and destruction of evidence, while Pandher was named in six.

The apex court’s latest decision finally ends Koli’s long incarceration, as he had been under a death sentence in over ten cases before being successively acquitted in each one.