Allahabad High Court on Monday accused the prosecution of “betrayal of public trust” with its sloppy investigation as it acquitted M.S. Pandher and Surendra Koli of the Nithari murders saying guilt had not been proved “beyond reasonable doubt”.

“The casual and perfunctory manner in which important aspects of arrest, recovery and confession have been dealt with are most disheartening, to say the least,” the court said.

It noted how the prosecution kept changing its position: it initially attributed the recoveries jointly to Pandher and Koli but later “the guilt was fastened exclusively” on Koli.

It noted that all the recoveries of human remains were from a drain outside the boundary of House D- 5 (Pandher’s) and D-6 (belonging to a doctor accused of organ trading).

“None of the recovery of skull, bones/ skeleton is made from within the House No. D-5. The only recovery from within the House No. D-5... is that of two knives and an
axe, which admittedly are not used for committing the offence of rape, murder etc.
but are alleged to have been used for cutting the body parts after the victims were strangulated to death,” the court said.

It said the prosecution’s failure to probe the possible involvement of the organ trade, despite specific recommendations from a high-level committee formed by the government, was a “betrayal of public trust”.

It said the probe opted for “the easy course of implicating a poor servant” by “demonising him”.

“Inferences of many kind(s), including collusion etc are probable on account of such serious lapses occasioned during investigation,” it said.

Ajay Kumar, an Allahabad High Court advocate who was not involved in the case, said: “The government should act against those responsible for weak pleading in the court in this horrible case.”