In Brief
In this landmark curative petition, the Supreme Court set aside the conviction and death sentence (later commuted to life imprisonment) of Surendra Koli in the Nithari serial murders case. Koli was convicted primarily on a Section 164 confession and alleged discoveries under Section 27 of the Evidence Act. However, in twelve identical companion cases involving the same evidence, the High Court acquitted Koli in 2023, and the Supreme Court affirmed those acquittals in 2025. The Court held that two irreconcilable final decisions on identical evidence violated constitutional guarantees under Articles 14 and 21. The confession was tainted by 60 days' police custody without legal aid and investigating officer presence; the discoveries lacked contemporaneous disclosure and showed prior public knowledge. Forensic evidence failed to link Koli to crimes within the premises. The Court invoked curative powers to prevent abuse of process and cure manifest miscarriage of justice where judicial outcomes contradicted each other, emphasizing that suspicion cannot replace proof beyond reasonable doubt even in heinous crimes.
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