The Uttar Pradesh government will review the Allahabad High Court’s order in the Nithari serial killings case and approach the Supreme Court if required, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said on October 19.
The high court on October 16 acquitted domestic help Surendra Koli and his employer Moninder Singh Pandher in the sensational 2005-06 case in which they were facing death sentence, holding that the prosecution failed to prove the guilt “beyond reasonable doubt” and that the investigation was botched up.
The judgment in the case brought back memories of the chilling crime targeting young children that came to light with skeletal remains being found behind a Noida bungalow, near Delhi, with the families of the victims claiming injustice.
“Certainly, the type of crimes that were registered in this case and the type of advocacy that should have been done by the government were done,” Maurya told reporters during an official visit to Gautam Buddh Nagar.
“Certainly it (the Allahabad HC’s order) will be reviewed at the government level and if necessary, the government will approach the Supreme Court,” the deputy chief minister added.
Reversing the death sentence given to Koli in 12 cases and Pandher in two cases, the Allahabad High Court noted that the prosecution has failed to prove the guilt of both the accused “beyond reasonable doubt, on the settled parameters of a case based on circumstantial evidence and the probe was nothing short of a betrayal of public trust by responsible agencies.”
Source: PTI