Supreme Court Reserves Verdict on Surendra Koli’s Curative Plea in Nithari Murder Case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the curative petition filed by Surendra Koli, challenging his conviction and death sentence in one of the Nithari murder cases. A bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath observed that Koli’s plea “deserves to be allowed,” noting that an anomalous situation had arisen since he has already been acquitted in all other related cases. “This matter deserves to be allowed in a minute,” remarked CJI Gavai during the hearing, which also saw a light-hearted exchange with Additional Solicitor General Rajkumar Bhaskar Thakare, representing the CBI.

Koli was convicted for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Noida’s Nithari village, a case linked to the gruesome discovery of skeletal remains of children behind businessman Moninder Singh Pandher’s house in 2006. His conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2011, though the Allahabad High Court later commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment due to delays in his mercy plea. In October 2023, the High Court acquitted Koli and Pandher in several other Nithari cases, overturning previous death sentences.

Earlier this year, on July 30, the Supreme Court dismissed 14 appeals filed by the CBI and victims’ families challenging those acquittals, affirming that there was “no perversity” in the Allahabad High Court’s judgment. With the curative plea now under consideration, Koli could walk free if the apex court decides in his favor, as he stands acquitted in all other Nithari cases.

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