Nithari killings accused Koli gets lease on life as SC stays execution till October 29

The Supreme Court on Friday extended till October 29 the stay on execution of death sentence of Nithari rapist-cum-serial killer Surinder Koli.

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 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.