'Pandher's conviction was based on presumption'

Allahabad High Court's verdict on Friday acquitting Moninder Singh Pandher in one of the Nithari serial murder cases has come as a shock to many. The victims' families had hoped that the high court would uphold the order of the special court, which had held him guilty in the case. However, that was not to be.

J P Sharma, the special public prosecutor who argued the case before the trial court that convicted Pandher and his domestic help Surinder Kohli, explains rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa about the circumstances that may have led to the acquittal of Pandher.

What are your first thoughts on this judgment?

It would not be right to comment on the judgment since the courts take into consideration a lot of factors before coming to any conclusion. Moreover, it is too early to say anything. I would like to read the judgment fully before I can make any comment on this.

Do you think the Central Bureau of Investigation has failed considering this verdict resulted in an acquittal of a man who the nation thought was a criminal?

I don't think so. One cannot say that the CBI has failed. It has always been the stand of the CBI that Pandher was not involved in the case. In fact, one could say that the stand of the CBI has been vindicated with this judgment.

You have gone through the records and CBI's investigation report. What did they say exactly?

The CBI, which was pressed into investigation of this case, had maintained in its final report that there was no evidence to show that Pandher was guilty and this is the same thing that they have stated to the high court.

This means that the CBI had lost its case before the trial court. What had they told the trial court?

Yes. The trial court did not uphold their stand. The CBI had maintained before the trial court too that they had not found any evidence against Pandher. They only had evidence against Kohli, which they placed before the court.

Then what happened before the trial court? On what count did the trial court convict Pandher?

The conviction was ordered based on presumption. The trial court had looked into submissions made by all the parties, including those made by families of the victim. The CBI had contended vociferously that there was no case against Pandher. However, the trial court went ahead with the conviction based on the presumption that Pandher could have been involved in the crime.

What next in this case? Is it an end game as far as Pandher is concerned?

Not really. There is always an appeal available before the Supreme Court. However, it would be hard to say whether the CBI would go in appeal to the apex court since their stand has always been that Pandher is not involved in the case. The CBI must be satisfied with this verdict.

Then who can go in appeal?

A provision for appeal is available with the family of the victim. All is not lost for them. They can move the Supreme Court and put forth their arguments.

Will it serve any purpose considering the CBI and the high court have termed Pandher not guilty?

That is not for me to say. The Supreme Court will have to decide on that aspect.