Surendra Koli being taken to jail after he was convicted
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday acquitted Nithari killings convict Surendra Koli in the last case and ordered his immediate release if not wanted in any other case.
A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath allowed a curative petition filed by Koli.
He had been convicted for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Noida’s Nithari village. His conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court in February 2011, and his review plea was dismissed in 2014.
Pronouncing the order, Justice Nath said, “The curative petition is allowed.”
In October, 2025, the apex court reserved its verdict on a curative petition filed by Koli, challenging his conviction and death sentence in one of the Nithari murder cases, observing that his plea “deserves to be allowed".
Koli, sentenced to death in multiple cases, had been acquitted in 12 cases by the Allahabad High Court due to "unreliable" prosecution evidence.
Justice Nath said, “The petitioner is acquitted of the charges in sections 302 (murder), 364, 376, and 201, of the IPC. All the sentences and fines imposed are quashed. The petitioner shall be released forthwith, if not required in any other case or proceeding."
The court ordered its registry to communicate the judgment forthwith to the superintendent of the jail concerned and to the trial court for immediate compliance.