The Allahabad high court on Thursday acquitted Rajesh and Nupur Talwar of murdering their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj in May 2008. The HC overturned the 2013 trail court ruling that found the couple guilty of murdering their daughter and domestic help.
According to the case file, on November 25, 2013, a special CBI court in Ghaziabad found the Talwars guilty of murdering Aarushi and Hemraj. They were sentenced to life imprisonment. The Talwars are currently serving their life term in prison in Dasna jail in Ghaziabad.
In January 2014, the Talwars moved the Allahabad high court challenging the CBI court's conviction and sentence. According to the prosecution, on the night of May 15-16, 2008, Aarushi, eight days short of her 14th birthday, was found dead in her bedroom, with her throat slit, in the Talwars' Jalvayu Vihar residence in the Delhi suburb of Noida. At first, the main suspect was Hemraj, but two days later he, too, was found murdered and his body was recovered from the terrace of the house. Following a lot of criticism, the case was handed over to the CBI on June 1, 2008.
The handling of the case by CBI was not without controversy. Two separate CBI teams reached opposing conclusions. One claimed a breakthrough and arrested three men - Rajesh Talwar's compounder Krishna and two domestic workers, Rajkumar and Vijay Mandal. But the CBI failed to chargesheet them. Then, the CBI constituted a second team to investigate. This one had to file a 'closure report' in court, as investigators did not find enough evidence to charge anyone for the murders. The CBI special court rejected the 'closure report' and ordered the prosecution of the Talwars based on existing evidence. After their conviction, the Thalwars moved the Allahabad high Court.
