The Supreme Court today set aside the conviction of Surendra Koli in the last pending case related to the Nithari killings. A bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai allowed Koli’s curative petition, noting that he had already been acquitted in twelve other similar cases. The Court recalled its 2011 judgment that had upheld his conviction and ordered his immediate release if not wanted in any other case. This marks the end of all criminal cases against Koli, after the Supreme Court earlier upheld his acquittal, along with co-accused Moninder Singh Pandher, in the remaining Nithari cases. The Nithari killings came to light with the discovery of skeletal remains of eight children from a drain behind businessman Moninder Singh’s Pandher’s house at Nithari in Noida on December 29, 2006.