Nithari case: SC stays Surinder Koli's execution till Oct. 29

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the execution of Nithari killings convict Surinder Koli till October 29, while the hearing is now scheduled to resume on October 28.

The apex court had earlier on September 8 stayed the death row convict's execution by one week after an appeal was filed by senior advocate Indira Jaising on behalf of Koli.

Justice H.L. Dattu passed the order in the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, staying Koli's execution on an appeal filed by him.

The same bench had earlier on July 24 refused to stay the execution and had rejected Koli's review petition against confirmation of his death penalty by the Supreme Court.

A Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, however, passed a landmark verdict a week later in which it ruled that the review petitions of convicts facing capital punishment warranted an open court hearing since the issue pertained to the right to life.

The apex court also opined that all such convicts, who are on death row and whose review petitions had been rejected in chamber hearings but their curative petitions were yet to be decided, could file their review petitions for open court hearings afresh.

President Pranab Mukherjee had on July 27 rejected the mercy petition, paving the way for the judicial process to commence for Koli's hanging.

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

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.

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