The Supreme Court on Tuesday acquitted Surendra Koli in the last pending murder and rape case filed against him in connection with the Nithari killings of 2005-’06 in Noida, Bar and Bench reported.

A bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath allowed a curative petition filed by Koli against his conviction in the killing of a 15-year-old girl. It also ordered his immediate release if he was not wanted in any other case, ANI reported.

Koli’s conviction in the case had been upheld by the Supreme Court in February 2011, Bar and Bench reported.

However, he moved the Supreme Court again with the curative petition after the Allahabad High Court acquitted him in October 2023 in the pending 12 cases against him related to the Nithari killings.

The killings came to light after body parts of children and young adults were traced to Moninder Singh Pandher’s house in Noida’s Nithari village in December 2006. Later, the police also discovered 19 skeletons in the house.

The Central Bureau of Investigation took over the case and alleged that Pandher’s domestic worker, Koli, had been raping and killing the women and girls, even eating their body parts, and, in one case, cooking them.

The central agency had registered 16 cases and accused Koli in all of them of murder, abduction, rape and destruction of evidence. The investigating agency named Pandher in one of the cases for immoral trafficking. He was also charged in five other cases.

A trial court had convicted Koli in 12 cases and sentenced him to death, while Pandher had been convicted in two cases. However, in October 2023, the Allahabad High Court acquitted the two after taking into account the lack of evidence.

On July 31, the Supreme Court dismissed 14 appeals filed by the CBI and the families of the victims challenging the High Court’s verdict.

In the present case pertaining to the 15-year-old girl, the High Court in 2009 held Koli guilty but acquitted Pandher due to lack of evidence for her murder and rape, Bar and Bench reported.

However, Koli filed an appeal against this judgement, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2011. Another review petition filed by Koli was also dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2014, according to Bar and Bench.

However, the High Court in 2015 commuted Koli’s death sentence in the case to life imprisonment after taking into account the inordinate delay in deciding on his mercy petition.

While hearing his curative petition on October 7, the Supreme Court noted that his conviction in the matter was merely based on a statement and the recovery of a kitchen knife, Bar and Bench reported.

The bench added that an anomalous situation had arisen due to the acquittal in the other cases.

On Tuesday, Nath said that Koli was acquitted of the charges, adding that he shall be released.

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