The Allahabad High Court on Monday acquitted domestic help Surender Koli and his employer Moninder Singh Pandher in the 2006 Nithari serial killings due to lack of evidence. The case, which involved the discovery of skeletal remains behind a Noida bungalow, shook the nation with its horrific crimes against young girls.
A two-judge bench comprising Justices Ashwani Kumar Mishra and SHA Rizvi allowed the appeals filed by Koli and Pandher, challenging the death sentences imposed by a CBI court in Ghaziabad. The high court stated that the prosecution had failed to establish its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Manisha Bhandari, the lawyer representing Pandher, mentioned that the Allahabad High Court’s decision could potentially lead to Pandher’s release from prison. However, Koli is likely to remain incarcerated, as he still faces life imprisonment in one case.
A CBI official in New Delhi indicated that the team was awaiting the judgment copy and would decide on the next steps after reviewing it. Koli, currently in a Ghaziabad prison, had received the death penalty in 12 cases being heard by the Allahabad High Court. His former employer Pandher, held in a Noida jail, had been sentenced to death in two cases.
Both were charged with rape and murder and had received the death penalty for their involvement in the killings, which shocked the nation with the heinous details of sexual assault, brutal murder, and even hints of possible cannibalism.
In total, 19 cases had been registered against Pandher and Koli in 2007. The CBI had submitted closure reports in three of these cases due to insufficient evidence. Koli had previously been acquitted in three cases, and his death sentence in one case had been commuted to life imprisonment.
The Uttar Pradesh government’s appeal challenging the high court’s earlier decision to commute Koli’s death sentence to life imprisonment is still pending before the Supreme Court.
Koli was acquitted in the remaining 12 cases on this day. Pandher’s lawyer explained that he was initially charged in six cases—one by the CBI and five based on complaints from the victims’ families.
Nithari Serial Killings: Timeline of the Case
2006
- 29 December: The house owner Maninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help, Surender Koli were arrested.
- 30 December: Skeletal remains of children were found in the drain.
- 31 December: Two constables were suspended.
2007
- 1 January: Clashes between villagers and the police over the murders. Police questioned Pandher’s relatives in Chandigarh.
- 5 January: UP police took the accused for a comprehensive narco-analysis test in Gandhinagar.
- 10 January: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took charge of the case.
- 11 January: The first CBI team arrived to begin investigations. Thirty more bones were recovered near the house.
- 12 January: The CBI interrogated Maninder Singh Pandher and Surender Koli.
- 20 January: The UP government submitted a report to the National Human Rights Commission.
- 8 February: The special CBI court sent Pandher and Koli to CBI custody for 14 days.
- 12 February: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) formed a committee to study the case.
- 28 February and 1 March: Surender Koli gave confessional statements at Agra’s Central Forensic Science Laboratory, and the statements were videotaped.
- 22 May: The CBI filed the first chargesheet in the Ghaziabad court. Mild charges were framed against Pandher and serious ones against Koli.
2008
- 11 May: The Ghaziabad court ordered the CBI to investigate Pandher’s role in the murders.
- 6 September: Remains of a girl who had fallen victim to the Nithari killings were found in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal.
- 1 November: The Supreme Court issued a notice to the CBI regarding allegations of trying to save Pandher.
- 13 December: The Special CBI court filed charges against Maninder Singh Pandher for the rape and murder of two minors.
2009
- 12 February: The special CBI court declared Pandher and Koli guilty of rape and murder.
- 13 February: Pandher and Koli were sentenced to death for the rape and murder of Rimpa Haldar, one of the 19 cases.
- 11 September: The Supreme Court stayed the execution of Koli’s death sentence.
2010
- 7 January: The Supreme Court imposed a stay on Koli’s death sentence.
2014
- 8 September: A court issued a stay order on Koli’s hanging at 1 AM on the same day that the execution was scheduled. The court noted that the petition had been filed before the court in the wee hours and the order was passed at 1:40 AM. Information about the order was conveyed to the concerned jail authorities. Koli was to be hanged in Meerut jail on September 12, where he was kept in a high-security barrack.
- 7 September: The Supreme Court commuted the death penalty of Koli to life imprisonment.
2017
- 22 July: The CBI court found businessman Maninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help, Surinder Koli, guilty and announced that the sentence would be pronounced on July 24.
- 24 July: The CBI court declared Surinder Koli and Maninder Singh Pandher guilty of the murder and attempted rape of Pinki Sarkar, a 20-year-old. This is the eighth case of 16 murder cases for which a decision has been made.
