NEW DELHI: Bringing closure to one of India’s most horrifying crime sagas, the Supreme Court on Tuesday acquitted Surinder Koli, ending the last pending case in the infamous Nithari killings that shocked the nation nearly two decades ago.
A bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai and comprising Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath ruled that Koli’s conviction in the 2006 disappearance, rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl could not be sustained due to lack of credible evidence.
The court directed his immediate release, noting that the prosecution had “failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”
“Suspicion, however grave, cannot replace proof. Criminal law does not permit conviction on conjecture or on a hunch,” the bench observed, adding that investigative lapses had “corroded the fact-finding process.”
Jail superintendent Brijesh Kumar confirmed that Koli walked out of the facility around 7.20 pm on Wednesday.
“Surendra Koli was released after the order of the Supreme Court,” Kumar told reporters.
Clad in a blue shirt, black trousers, and a navy-blue jacket, Koli left the prison accompanied by his lawyers. His family members were not present at the jail gate, and he declined to speak to the media gathered outside. It was not immediately known where he was taken after his release.
The Nithari killings came to light in December 2006 when skeletal remains, skulls, and bones of several missing children and women were discovered from the backyard and drains of House D-5 in Noida’s Sector 31, owned by businessman Moninder Singh Pandher.
The gruesome discoveries revealed a series of abductions, sexual assaults, and murders, triggering nationwide outrage and fear. Dozens of children from the nearby Nithari village had gone missing over the years, with little progress in tracing them.
Pandher and his domestic help Surinder Koli were arrested in 2006. Multiple cases were registered against them, and trial courts handed both several death sentences between 2007 and 2010.
Koli, who was 30 at the time of arrest, remained behind bars for nearly 19 years. His death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by the Allahabad High Court in 2015 due to delays in deciding his mercy plea.
In October 2023, the High Court acquitted both Koli and Pandher in other Nithari cases, overturning the trial court verdicts and citing lack of admissible evidence. The Supreme Court later upheld those acquittals in July 2024.
Pandher was released from jail on October 20, 2023.
In its latest ruling, the apex court highlighted serious flaws in the investigation — including failure to seal the crime scene, delayed witness statements, and mishandling of forensic evidence. It also noted that a possible organ trade angle, flagged by a government-appointed panel, was never seriously pursued.
“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,” the bench said, expressing sympathy for the victims’ families.
The Nithari case remains one of India’s darkest criminal episodes, exposing gaps in policing, forensic handling, and social neglect. The victims—mostly children from poor families—were never fully accounted for, and justice for their families remains elusive even after nearly two decades.