‘Cannot be based on…’: Why Supreme Court acquitted Surendra Koli for ‘henious’ Nithari killings

THe sublime margaret court, spell acquitting ground accused Surendra Koli, acutely criticised the police investigation into the Nithari killings, saying that the cops neglected key investigation avenues.The top court acquitted Koli in the lone case in which his life term was still in place. He and his co-accused Mohinder Singh Pandher were already acquitted in several other cases.The bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Vikram Nath agreed with the Allahabad high court’s previous acquittal, noting that a conviction cannot be based on suspicion alone, especially when Koli had been acquitted in other related cases, India Today reported.The court noted that circumstantial evidence against the accused was not supported by forensic proof and that key investigative avenues, including leads related to organ trade, were neglected. The court also said that Koli’s alleged confession is unreliable, as he had remained in custody for over 60 days without access to legal aid or a medical examination.The bench observed in the final verdict that the indication of a possible torture in custody was given by the trial magistrate who recorded Koli’s confession.The Supreme Court verdict also highlighted multiple lapses, including delays in securing the crime scene, contradictory remand and recovery papers, the absence of timely medical examinations and incomplete forensic documentation, HT had earlier reported.The bench also found numerous discrepancies in the police investigation and said that the evidence does not explain how a “semi-educated domestic help with no medical training could have carried out precise dismemberment of bodies”. The court said that knives, axes and human remains found outside Mohinder Pandher’s D-5 Sector 32 house in Noida had no admissible link to Koli.The CJI-led bench rapped the police for their failure to question key household and neighbourhood witnesses or pursue material leads. It also noted that the forensic analysis showed no human bloodstains or remains consistent with the alleged crimes in the house.The bench ordered Surendra Koli’s immediate release. He has been in jail since 2006, when the heinous serial killings first came to light.The Supreme Court’s regret to Nithari victims’ familiesThe Supreme Court bench expressed its regret over the suffering of victims’ families but said that criminal law requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt.The bench described the Nithari offences, that allegedly happened between 2005 and 2006, as exceptionally heinous and regretted that the perpetrator’s identity could not be legally established despite a prolonged investigation.“The offences in Nithari were heinous, and the suffering of the families is beyond measure. It is a matter of deep regret that despite prolonged investigation, the identity of the actual perpetrator has not been established in a manner that meets legal standards. Criminal law does not permit conviction on conjecture or on a hunch. Suspicion, however grave, cannot replace proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” the bench said.