Bringing closure to one of India’s most horrifying crime sagas, the Supreme Court on Tuesday acquitted Surinder Koli, ending the last pending case in the infamous Nithari killings that shocked the nation nearly two decades ago.

A bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai and comprising Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath ruled that Koli’s conviction in the 2006 disappearance, rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl could not be sustained due to lack of credible evidence.

The court directed his immediate release, noting that the prosecution had “failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”

“Suspicion, however grave, cannot replace proof. Criminal law does not permit conviction on conjecture or on a hunch,” the bench observed, adding that investigative lapses had “corroded the fact-find

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