In a significant development in the infamous Nithari serial murder cases, the Supreme Court of India on Thursday showed strong displeasure with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for appearing unprepared during a crucial hearing. The case concerns the appeals filed against the acquittal of Surendra Koli, one of the two key accused in the 2005–2006 Noida killings, commonly referred to as the “Nithari Kand.”
A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih was scheduled to hear 13 appeals, with 12 of them filed by the state authorities. However, during the proceedings, the counsels representing the petitioners, including Senior Advocate Geeta Luthra, requested an adjournment. They cited that the trial court records were voluminous and not fully accessible at the moment.
Upon reviewing the office report, the bench found that the complete trial court record was, in fact, available. Despite this, the state counsels continued to request more time, prompting Justice Gavai to express that such last-minute requests not only created hurdles for the bench but also for several lawyers who had traveled from outside Delhi to appear for the hearing.
“This puts the bench and outstation counsels in difficulty,” Justice Gavai observed, voicing the court’s disappointment.
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Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, who was among those seeking more time, requested a week to prepare and argue the case. She apologized to the court for the inconvenience caused. However, Justice Gavai remarked that despite having 18 lawyers present during the previous hearing—including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, ASG Vikramjit Banerjee, and other senior counsels—the state was still not ready to argue.
“It presents a very sorry picture of the Union/CBI,” Justice Gavai stated.
At that point, the senior counsel appearing for Surendra Koli argued that the case against Koli was fundamentally weak. He pointed out that the only evidence against his client was a confession recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, allegedly extracted after 60 days of custodial torture. He also referred to a recovery made under Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act.
“There is no physical evidence like blood-stained clothes, murder weapons, or torsos of victims,” the counsel stated. “The recovered body parts showed surgical precision, indicating something else was at play.”
He emphasized that the case, according to some findings and a High Powered Committee report, was more about organ trafficking than cannibalism and sexual deviance, as was initially portrayed by the authorities.
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The Supreme Court bench, while adjourning the case to April 29, 2025, took note of the consistent lack of preparedness and made a stern observation.
“If senior counsels are only appearing in name and not to argue, we might consider adopting the practice of the bench led by Justice Bela Trivedi,” said Justice Gavai.
Under that practice, only those senior advocates and advocates-on-record who are physically present and actively arguing the case, along with one assisting counsel, will be noted in the court’s records.
Background: The Nithari Killings Case
The chilling Nithari killings surfaced in December 2006, when the remains of several children and women were discovered in a drain behind the Noida home of businessman Moninder Singh Pandher in Nithari village. His domestic help, Surendra Koli, was also implicated in the case.
Following a high-profile probe by the CBI, both Koli and Pandher were charged with multiple serious crimes including murder, rape, abduction, and destruction of evidence.
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Koli was convicted and sentenced to death in 12 cases, while Pandher received death sentences in two cases. The investigation revealed that Koli allegedly murdered several young girls, dismembered their bodies, and dumped the parts in the backyard of Pandher’s house. A total of 19 human remains were reportedly found.
The CBI filed 16 cases, charge-sheeting Koli in all, while Pandher was initially named in only one for immoral trafficking. However, a Ghaziabad court later summoned Pandher in five more cases after the victims' families pushed for wider accountability.
In a major turn of events, the Allahabad High Court, in October 2023, acquitted both Pandher and Koli, citing lack of concrete evidence. The verdict came as a shock, especially to the families of the victims, and prompted the CBI and other state authorities to move the Supreme Court, where the matter is now pending.
The next hearing in this emotionally charged and legally complex case is now scheduled for April 29, 2025.
Case Title: State through Central Bureau of Investigation v. Surendra Koli, Diary No. 15138-2024 (and connected cases)
