New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday tagged a fresh plea filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with other pending pleas challenging the Allahabad High Court verdict acquitting domestic help Surendra Koli in the 2006 Nithari serial killings case in Noida.
A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan tagged the fresh CBI plea after CBI told the court that similar pleas against the High Court order are pending before the top court and this fresh plea may be tagged with them.
Apex court earlier agreed to hear separate pleas by CBI, UP govt challenging High Court order
The apex court had earlier agreed to hear separate pleas filed by the CBI and the Uttar Pradesh government challenging the High Court order and had issued a notice to Koli and sought his response on pleas challenging his acquittal.
Apex court earlier agreed to hear a plea filed by father of one of the victims
The top court had earlier in May agreed to hear a plea filed by the father of one of the victims challenging the verdict of the High Court acquitting Koli in one of the cases.
High Court in October last year acquitted Koli in 12 cases and Pandher in two cases
The High Court in October last year acquitted Koli in 12 cases and Pandher in two cases in which the trial court had awarded them death sentence they were awarded death sentence by the trial court, holding that the prosecution failed to prove their guilt “beyond reasonable doubt”.
Investigation in the case was botched up, High Court had said while allowing multiple appeals filed by Koli, Pandher
The High Court, while allowing multiple appeals filed by Koli and Pandher against the death sentence awarded by a Ghaziabad CBI court, had also said that the investigation in the case was botched up and “nothing short of a betrayal of public trust by responsible agencies”.
There were allegations of sexual assault, brutal murder and hints of possible cannibalism in Nithari serial killings
In all, 19 cases were registered against Pandher and Koli in 2007 and they were charged with rape and murder in the sensational case that came to light after recovery of the skeletal remains of several children from a drain behind the hose of Pandher in Nithari in Noida. There were allegations of sexual assault, brutal murder and hints of possible cannibalism in the case.
The case was initially investigated by the Noida Police and it was later transferred to the CBI.