The Allahabad High Court today acquitted Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in the murder of their teenage daughter Aarushi and their domestic help Hemraj in 2008, saying they could not be held guilty on the basis of the evidence on record.
The HC, while upholding the appeals by the Talwars against the Ghaziabad CBI court order sentencing them to life imprisonment on November 26, 2013, said that as per the circumstances and the evidence on record, the dentist couple could not be held guilty. Nupur and Rajesh Talwar have been serving their sentence in Ghaziabad's Dasna jail.
The verdict ends a nine-year ordeal of the parents who were found guilty by a CBI court of murdering 14-year-old Aarushi.
Aarushi was found dead inside her room in the Talwars' Noida residence with her throat slit in May 2008. The needle of suspicion had initially moved towards 45-year-old Hemraj, who had gone missing but his body was recovered from the terrace of the house two days later.
As it happened:
# The dentist couple is likely to walk out of the Dasna jail by Friday. Tanveer Ahmed Mir said that the two may come out of jail tomorrow afternoon.
# The investigation on the case was botched up. No fresh evidence can be collected in the case and the existing evidence could not even prove Rajesh and Nupur Talwar's presence in Aarushi's room: Avirook Sen, author of the book Aarushi
# At this age it was very trying for me to see my daughter and son-in-law being lodged in jail for a crime they did not commit. I am hugely relieved that this has come to an end: Aarushi's grandfather.
# These 10 years were the most painful of our lives, we were tired and exhausted: Vandana Talwar
# I was in pain to see my daughter and son-in-law for the crime that they have not committed: Nupur Talwar's father.
# We are thankful to the high court and also to the God, says Aarushi's aunt Vandana Talwar.
# Even if the CBI files an appeal before the Supreme Court, the Talwars will stay out of jail, says Tanveer Ahmed Mir
# Defence counsel Tanveer Ahmed Mir says the release will take a little time as the judgment needs to be released and an order sent to the jail housing the Talwars.
# CBI lawyer Anurag Khanna sayd the probe agency will go to the Supreme Court only after consulting with its top officials.
# Rajesh and Nupur Talwar are happy, and said that they have got justice: DR Maurya, Jailor, Dasna Jail
# We are waiting for the copy of the judgement. We will decide our next course of action after studying it: CBI
# We have got justice, says Nupur Talwar after court's verdict
# Grateful to the judiciary, I have always believed Rajesh and Nupur were innocent: BG Chitnis, Aarushi's grandfather
# The HC said that CBI could not substantiate evidence. The chain of evidence they have showcased is inconclusive. Therefore giving the benefit of doubt to the Talwars, the trial court judgment has been overruled.
# Allahabad High Court says that that there was no chain of evidence and we can't convict on the basis of mere suspicion.
# Allahabad High Court quashes CBI court's decision, acquits Nupur, Rajesh Talwar.
The Allahabad High Court is likely to pronounce the verdict at around 2 pm.
# Will approach the Supreme Court if HC rules against us, says Talwars' lawyer .
# Aarushi Talwar, 14, was found dead with her throat slit in her bedroom in flat no. L-32 Jalvayu Vihar in Noida on the morning of May 16, 2008. The body of the family's domestic help, Hemraj, who was initially suspected of her murder, was found in a pool of blood on the terrace of the flat the following day. The door of the terrace was found locked from inside.
# The case was handed over to the CBI after the Noida police was criticized for a botched up investigation, leading to the loss of crucial forensic evidence.
# However, the mystery over the sensational murder case further deepened as the two CBI teams which investigated the case, came to contradictory conclusions.
# The first CBI team said that Krishna, a friend of Hemraj, committed the murders as the latter had objected to plans to assault the teen.
# On the contrary, the second CBI team filed a closure report before a special court in Ghaziabad, saying that the murders could have been committed by the Talwars in a fit of rage after they saw their daughter with the domestic help. It, however, added that there was insufficient evidence against them.
#Though no concrete evidence was found against the couple, who still claim their innocence, court pronounced them guilty on circumstantial evidences.
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