SC extends stay on execution of death sentence of Nithari killer Surinder Koli till October 29
New Delhi/Meerut: The Supreme Court on Friday extended the stay on execution of death sentence of Nithari rapist-cum-serial killer Surinder Koli till October 29.
A bench headed by justice H L Dattu posted the case for hearing on October 29, on Koli's plea seeking review of apex court's verdict upholding his conviction and death sentence in one of the murder cases.
On September 8, the bench, also comprising justice A R Dave, had stayed the execution of death sentence of Koli for killing children in a house in Nithari village in Noida near here in 2006, for a period of one week.
The plea on behalf of 42-year-old Koli was moved by a team of lawyers led by senior advocate Indira Jaising and was mentioned before the bench after midnight and the order was passed at 1:40 am, hours before his execution.
Koli was to be hanged on the early morning of September 8, in Meerut jail, where he has been kept in a high-security barrack.
The lawyers had sought review of the apex court's July 24, 2014 order dismissing the plea to stay the execution of death sentence awarded to Koli.
While seeking stay of execution of the capital punishment, Jaising, along with advocate Yug Choudhary and others, had referred to the September 2 verdict of the apex court in which it had held that the review plea of condemned prisoners must be given an open court hearing.
Surinder Koli's mother met her son on Thursday for the first time in eight years since he was lodged in jail for Nithari serial killings.
68-year-old Kanti Koli who travelled from Mangrukhlal village in Almora town in Uttarakhand, met Surinder at Meerut jail for 45 minutes.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Kanti said that Surinder told her he was made a scapegoat in order to save influential people, apparently referring to his employer Moninder Singh Pandher.
Kanti further said, "If Pandher was not given capital punishment, my son should also be spared from it. If my son is hanged, Pandher should also be hanged."
Alleging that Surinder has been made a scapegoat in the case, Kanti said, the main culprit is Pandher as killings took place inside his house.
"I do not believe that my son can commit this crime," the grief-stricken mother said.
She was meeting Koli for the first time after eight years and was accompanied by panchayat member of Mangrukhlal, Narayan Singh Rawat and other members of her village.
SC has listed petition for hearing on 28 Oct & stayed execution till 29 Oct : Indira Jaising,Lawyer on Surinder Kohli pic.twitter.com/EhvP3AxJBE
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 12, 2014