The Supreme Court on Friday extended the stay on execution of Nithari killer Surendra Koli till October 29, giving his counsel time to prepare for arguments on his review petition listed for October 28. The Bench — headed by Justice Hl Dattu — in a midnight hearing on September 8 had stayed the death warrant on Koli after his hanging was fixed for 5.30 am the same day. Koli had sought the benefit of a recent SC verdict that allowed review petitions of death row convicts to be heard in open court by a three-judge bench. His review petition was dismissed in chamber by the SC on July 24 this year.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising who represented Koli informed the Court that she required access to trial court and High Court records available with the Supreme Court. The Court directed the Registry to permit her inspect the documents and provide a certified copy of statement recorded by the accused before the police and in Court, evidence of parties and the medical records.
The Court asked Jaising to present her arguments in bullet-point format well in advance before the case was taken up. The Court will also hear the prosecution on the next date.