{"id":366440,"date":"2025-11-12T13:30:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T08:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=366440"},"modified":"2025-11-13T17:28:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T11:58:11","slug":"supreme-court-acquits-nithari-killings-accused-surendra-koli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/11\/12\/supreme-court-acquits-nithari-killings-accused-surendra-koli\/","title":{"rendered":"Surendra Koli\u2019s acquittal in the 13th criminal case connected to Nithari Killings: Inside Supreme Court verdict"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Supreme Court:<\/span> While considering this petition filed by Surendra Koli, whose conviction in Rimpa Haldar case was affirmed by the Supreme Court whilst his acquittal in 12 companion prosecutions connected to Nithari Killings was upheld; the 3-Judge Bench of B.R. Gavai, CJI, Surya Kant and <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Vikram Nath*<\/span>, JJ., allowed the curative petition and acquitted Surendra Koli of the charges under Sections <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001561607\" target=\"_blank\">302<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001561684\" target=\"_blank\">364<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001561701\" target=\"_blank\">376<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001561485\" target=\"_blank\">201<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726960\" target=\"_blank\">Penal Code, 1860<\/a> (IPC), thereby allowing him to go free in the 13<span style=\"vertical-align: super;\">th<\/span> criminal case related to the horrific Nithari Killings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court stated that to allow a conviction to stand on evidentiary basis that Supreme Court itself has since rejected as involuntary or inadmissible in the very same factual matrix, offends Article 21 of the Constitution. It also violates Article 14 of the Constitution, since <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">like cases must be treated alike<\/span>. <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Arbitrary disparity in outcomes on an identical record is inimical to equality before the law<\/span>. &#8220;<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">The curative jurisdiction exists to prevent precisely such anomalies from hardening into precedent<\/span>&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h3>Background and Legal Trajectory:<\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Surendra Koli (petitioner) was employed as a domestic help at House D5, Sector 31, Noida. The house was owned and occupied by Koli&#8217;s employer Moninder Singh Pandher. From early 2005 residents of Nithari began reporting that women and children were missing. In March 2005, children in the neighbourhood playing cricket noticed a human hand in the narrow open strip between Houses D5 and D6 and the Jal Board residential quarters. Drain cleaning on the main road in front of the row of bungalows D1 to D6, revealed several more human remains.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">On 29-12-2006, the local police took the petitioner into custody concerning the disappearance of one of the victims. On the same day Pandher was detained outside D5. Digging of the open strip between D5, D6 and the Jal Board compound led to recovery of multiple skulls and bones with footwear and clothes; furthermore, a knife was recovered from beneath the terrace water tank of D5. On 31-12-2006 further human remains and articles were taken out from the covered storm water drain in front of Houses D1 to D6. Multiple FIRs were registered for different missing persons.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">In 2007, the State transferred investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002935504\" target=\"_blank\">Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946<\/a>. Teams from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory assisted the CBI in searches at and around D5 through mid-January 2007.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Nithari Killings eventually led to the <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">initiation of 13 trials based on common evidentiary foundation<\/span> that comprised the alleged disclosure leading to recoveries and the confessional statement under Section 164 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726935\" target=\"_blank\">Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973<\/a> (CrPC).<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">In Rimpa Haldar case, the petitioner&#8217;s conviction and death sentence was affirmed<\/span> by the Supreme Court in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Surendra Koli v. State of U.P.<\/span>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/WpiWHdGH\" target=\"_blank\">(2011) 4 SCC 80<\/a>, and dismissed the review petition in 2014. On 28-01-2015, the High Court commuted the death sentence to imprisonment for life. However, <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">the petitioner was acquitted by the High Court in 12 companion prosecutions<\/span> on 16-10-2023, and on 30-07-2025 and the Supreme Court dismissed the State appeals and affirmed those acquittals.<\/p>\n<h3>Petitioner&#8217;s Assertion:<\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Therefore, the petitioner preferred the present curative petition which concerns the verdict in Rimpa Haldar case. The petitioner asserted that <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">two sets of outcomes resting on the same evidentiary foundation cannot lawfully coexist<\/span>. Such inconsistency engages the guarantees of equality and due process under Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution and warrants consideration <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">ex debito justitiae<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h3>Issue Framed:<\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Whether two sets of outcomes of Supreme Court can stand together when they rest on an identical evidentiary foundation?<\/p>\n<h3>Court&#8217;s Assessment:<\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Perusing the case, the Court firstly reiterated the rationale behind the exercise of curative jurisdiction as espoused in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Rupa Ashok Hurra v. Ashok Hurra<\/span>, (2002) 4 SCC 388. &#8220;<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">The guiding principle for the exercise of curative jurisdiction is the duty of this Court to avert manifest injustice<\/span>&#8221;. The Court thereafter took note of the petitioner&#8217;s plea and observed that petition carries the averments and certification required by Order XLVIII of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 and has been placed in accordance with the prescribed procedure. Therefore, the Court was satisfied that the threshold for invoking the curative jurisdiction was met and proceeded to examine the merits.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Perusing the issue framed, the Court noted that <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">the first decision in<\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Surendra Koli v. State of U.P.<\/span>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/WpiWHdGH\" target=\"_blank\">(2011) 4 SCC 80<\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">affirmed the petitioner&#8217;s conviction and death sentence on the strength of<\/span> a Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001519400\" target=\"_blank\">164<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726935\" target=\"_blank\">CrPC<\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">confession and supposed discoveries<\/span> under Section 27 of the Evidence Act; and <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">secondly<\/span> there is the order of July 2025, which dismissed the State&#8217;s appeals challenging petitioner&#8217;s acquittal in 12 related cases <span style=\"font-weight: bold; color: #c00000;\">where the very same confession and the very same class of Section 27 material were rejected as legally unreliable<\/span>. &#8220;<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">The tension is not peripheral. It goes to the integrity of adjudication. In such a situation, the curative jurisdiction recognised in Rupa Ashok Hurra (Supra) is rightly invoked<\/span>&#8221;. The Court pointed out that the object is not to reopen evidence as in a second appeal. The object is to <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">cure a manifest miscarriage of justice where inconsistent results persist on the same foundation and undermine public confidence in the administration of justice<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Therefore, the Court began testing the petitioner&#8217;s conviction against the legal defects that led the High Court, and thereafter Supreme Court, to discard the common evidentiary pillars in 12 companion matters. The Court noted that the <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">defects were structural infirmities inherent in the mode of proof relied upon across the Nithari prosecutions<\/span>. It was observed that petitioner&#8217;s Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001519400\" target=\"_blank\">164<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726935\" target=\"_blank\">CrPC<\/a> statement was recorded after about 60 days of uninterrupted police custody without meaningful legal aid. The recording Magistrate did not record the clear, unqualified satisfaction that the statute demands. The Investigating Officer&#8217;s proximity to the recording process compromised the environment of voluntariness. The text of the statement itself repeatedly adverted to tutoring and to prior coercion. The confession that anchored the conviction was found to be legally tainted.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Thereafter, the Court tested the conviction against the alleged discoveries and recoveries under Section 27 of the Evidence Act. It was pointed out that High Court found that no contemporaneous disclosure memo was proved. The narrative in the later-prepared seizure memorandum conflicted with the remand papers, which recorded a joint disclosure by both accused. The evidence also showed that the police and members of the public already knew that bones and articles lay in the open strip and that excavation had begun before the petitioner arrived. These features negated the essential element of discovery by the accused and reduced the exercise to a seizure from an already known place. These findings were upheld when the State&#8217;s appeals were dismissed in July 2025. It was noted that the present conviction rested on the same recovery architecture. <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Once the disclosure is not contemporaneously proved, once prior knowledge is established, and once contradictions infect the record, Section 27 of the Evidence Act ceases to operate<\/span>. The legal conclusion cannot change from case to case when the premise is identical. Thus, the supposed discoveries did not satisfy the statutory preconditions for admissibility.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Furthermore, extensive searches of D-5 by expert teams did not yield human bloodstains, remains, or transfer patterns consistent with multiple homicides and dismemberment inside the house. DNA work undertaken by the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics in Hyderabad linked certain remains to families of missing persons, and this aided only with the identification and did not prove authorship of homicide by the petitioner within D-5. It was observed that no credible chain of custody or expert testimony establishing that a domestic help with no medical training could perform the precise dismemberment as was described in the forensics. These gaps were central to the acquittals in the 12 cases and the Court noted that they are equally present in the Rimpa Haldar case.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; margin-left: 36pt;\">&#8220;<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">High Court&#8217;s critique of the investigation was not rhetorical excess. It was anchored in record-based deficiencies that bear directly on fairness and reliability (&#8230;) The same infirmities, viewed through the lens of the present record, cannot yield a different legal conclusion<\/span>&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Therefore, the Court held that the petitioner has established a fundamental defect that impeached the integrity of the adjudicatory process and that relief is warranted <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">ex debito justitiae<\/span> within the parameters of <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Rupa Ashok Hurra<\/span> (Supra).<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court acknowledged of the gravity of Nithari Killings and the trauma that was caused to the victims&#8217; families. <span style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">&#8220;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 the legal standards&#8221;<\/span>. The Court remarked that it was genuinely unfortunate that in the present matter negligence and delay corroded the fact-finding process and foreclosed avenues that might have identified the true offender. &#8220;<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Each lapse weakened the provenance and reliability of the evidence and narrowed the path to the truth<\/span>&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h3>Decision:<\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Therefore, the Court deemed it appropriate to recall and set aside its decision in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Surendra Koli v. State of U.P.<\/span>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/WpiWHdGH\" target=\"_blank\">(2011) 4 SCC 80<\/a> and acquitted the petitioner of all charges in the 13<span style=\"vertical-align: super;\">th<\/span> prosecution case. It was directed that the petitioner shall be released forthwith, if not required in any other case or proceeding. The Registry shall communicate this judgment forthwith to the Superintendent of the jail concerned and to the Trial Court for immediate compliance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">[<span style=\"font-weight: bold; color: #632423;\">Surendra Koli v. State of Uttar Pradesh, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/rDyR3JK1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2025 SCC OnLine SC 2384<\/a>, decided on 11-11-2025<\/span>]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 18pt;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">*Judgment by Justice Vikram Nath<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Advocates who appeared in this case :<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">For Petitioner(s):<\/span> Mr. Yug Mohit Chaudhary, Adv. Ms. Payoshi Roy, Adv. Mr. Siddhartha Sharma, Adv. Mr. Prabhu Ramasubramaniam, Adv. Mr. N. Sai Vinod, AOR Mr. Bharatimohan M, Adv. Ms. Kanu Garg, Adv.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">For Respondent(s):<\/span> Mr. Raja Thakare, A.S.G. Mr. Nachiketa Joshi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR Mr. K. Parameshwar, Adv. Mr. Praneet Pranav, Adv. Mr. Rajendra Singh Rana, Adv. Ms. Vaishali Verma, Adv. Mr. Rohit Khare, Adv. Ms. Astha Singh, Adv. Mr. Rishikesh Haridas, Adv. Mr. Kritagya Kumar Kait, Adv.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"color: #000080;\">Buy Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 &nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebcwebstore.com\/product_info.php?products_id=1031\" target=\"_blank\">HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebcwebstore.com\/product_info.php?products_id=1031\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Code of Criminal Procedure\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-294422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure-440x293.jpg 440w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure-650x433.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure.jpg 886w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure-60x40.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"color: #000080;\">Buy Penal Code, 1860 &nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebcwebstore.com\/product_info.php?products_id=1158\" target=\"_blank\">HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebcwebstore.com\/product_info.php?products_id=1158\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"penal code, 1860\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-294601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860-440x293.jpg 440w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860-650x433.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860.jpg 886w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860-60x40.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">&#8220;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 the legal standards&#8221;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":366441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,9],"tags":[33715,92478,92479,34871,92476,92477,2777,92475,61957],"class_list":["post-366440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-supremecourt","tag-curative-petition","tag-fundamental-defects","tag-identical-evidentiary-foundation","tag-justice-vikram-nath","tag-moninder-singh-pandher","tag-nithari-house-d5","tag-nithari_killings","tag-rimpa-haldar-case","tag-surendra-koli"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.4 (Yoast SEO v26.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>SC acquits Nithari Killings accused Surendra Koli in final criminal case | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta 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Dattu, C.J and A.R. Dave and S.A. Bode, JJ. rejected the petition stating that there is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Supreme Court&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Supreme Court","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/supremecourt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/scc-blog_Page_9.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/scc-blog_Page_9.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/scc-blog_Page_9.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/scc-blog_Page_9.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/scc-blog_Page_9.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":326041,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/07\/08\/sc-issues-notice-on-cbi-plea-against-acquittal-surendra-koli-nithari-killings\/","url_meta":{"origin":366440,"position":1},"title":"SC issues notice on CBI\u2019s plea against Surendra Koli\u2019s acquittal in Nithari Killings","author":"Editor","date":"July 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year, in October, the Allahabad High Court had acquitted Surendra Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher in the Nithari Killings matter and set aside their death sentences.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hot Off The Press&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hot Off The Press","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/news\/hot_off_the_press\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nithari Killings","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Nithari-Killings.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Nithari-Killings.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Nithari-Killings.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Nithari-Killings.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6422,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2014\/09\/08\/death-warrant-against-surinder-koli-convict-in-the-infernal-nithari-killings-case-stayed\/","url_meta":{"origin":366440,"position":2},"title":"Death warrant against Surinder Koli, convict in the infernal \u201cNithari Killings\u201d case, stayed","author":"Sucheta","date":"September 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Supreme Court: Relying upon the recent order dated 02.09.2014 of the Court in Mohd. Arif v. Supreme Court of India, (Writ Petition No.77 of 2014), Surinder Koli, the convict in the Nithari Killings case, sought for recalling and reviewing of the Death warrant issued against him. Considering the urgency of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Supreme Court&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Supreme Court","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/supremecourt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/scc-blog_Page_9.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/scc-blog_Page_9.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/scc-blog_Page_9.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/scc-blog_Page_9.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/scc-blog_Page_9.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":304940,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/10\/16\/nithari-killings-allahabad-high-court-acquits-surendra-koli-moninder-pander-set-aside-death-sentence\/","url_meta":{"origin":366440,"position":3},"title":"[Nithari Killings] Allahabad High Court acquits Surendra Koli and Moninder Pandher; Set aside their death sentence","author":"Apoorva","date":"October 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Nithari murder case concerning with the rape and murder of several girl children between 2005-2006 sent shockwaves across the country.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hot Off The Press&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hot Off The Press","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/news\/hot_off_the_press\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"allahabad high court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/allahabad-high-court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/allahabad-high-court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/allahabad-high-court.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/allahabad-high-court.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6426,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2015\/02\/11\/court-commuted-the-death-sentence-of-surendra-kohli-to-life-imprisonment-for-the-murder-of-rimpa-haldar\/","url_meta":{"origin":366440,"position":4},"title":"Court commuted the death sentence of \u201cSurendra Kohli\u201d to life imprisonment for the murder of \u201cRimpa Haldar\u201d","author":"Sucheta","date":"February 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Allahabad high Court: While holding \u201cSurendra Koli\u201d (Convict) guilty of committing murder of \u201cRimpa Haldar\u201d, the division bench of D.Y. 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