Nithari case: Supreme Court stays Surinder Koli’s execution

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, September 8, 2014: The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of death sentence of Nithari killer Surinder Koli.

The court has stayed the execution of the death sentence for one week.

Justice H.L. Dattu passed the order in the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, staying Koli’s execution on an appeal by him. Koli was represented by senior counsel Indira Jaising.

An official of the apex court said that the plea in this regard was mentioned before the bench after midnight and the order was passed at 1:40 am.

The official said the order has been communicated to the jail authorities concerned.

Koli was to be hanged on September 12 in Meerut jail, where he has been kept in a high-security barrack.

"We will withhold the execution of Surinder Koli for 7 days and then wait for further orders," SM Rizvi, Meerut Jail superintendent said.

Koli has been sentenced to death in connection with the killing of Rimpa Halder and in four other cases.

This will be the first execution of a death sentence convict under the new NDA government.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier recommended to President Pranab Mukherjee that Koli’s mercy plea be rejected, barely a month after he had taken over as the minister.

The President rejected the mercy petition on July 27, paving the way for the judicial process to commence for hanging of Koli.

There are 11 cases of murder pending against Koli. CBI had filed charge sheet against him in 16 cases where he had allegedly killed children after sexually abusing them.

The Rimpa Halder case came to light in December, 2006 when a girl who went missing was found murdered later by Koli.

Investigations into the case led the probe team into more gruesome murders of children and their skeletal remains were recovered from a drain adjacent to the house where Koli was working as a domestic servant in Nithari locality of Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Koli was awarded death sentence by a lower court, which was upheld by the Allahabad High Court and confirmed by the Supreme Court on February 15, 2011 for the murder of Rimpa Halder in 2005.

Holding that Koli "appears to be the serial killer", the court had said "No mercy can be shown to him."

A total of 16 cases were registered against Koli. His employer Moninder Singh Pandher, who was also sentenced to death in Rimpa Halder case, was acquitted by the Allahabad High Court.

Out of 16 cases filed against Koli, he has been awarded death sentence in five of them so far and others are still under trial.


Courtesy:Indiatoday