11:47 (IST)
Want a life away from media attention: Nupur Talwar's father BG Chitnis
Want to be away from courts, want a normal life, had enough attention in last 9 years: BG Chitnis, Nupur Talwar's father on approaching SC pic.twitter.com/8fVdDsBDNI
— ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2017
11:43 (IST)
CBI skipped 'crucial test' because it was 'expensive'
According to a report in Deccan Chronicle, CBI, which was flayed by the Allahabad High Court for 'misreably failing' to prove that the Talwars had destroyed material evidence, did not undertake a crucial forensic test despite the fact that the crime scene was contaminated badly.
The premium investigation agency, reportedly cited the unusualy high cost as the reason behind its decision to skip the Touch-DNA test, for which samples had to be sent to UK.
11:17 (IST)
Police to escort Talwar couple home due to security concerns
11:03 (IST)
Talwar couple to visit Sai temple after release
According to CNN-News18, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar will visit the Shirdi Sai temple in Noida Sector 16, soon after their release.
10:39 (IST)
Rajesh, Nupur Talwar to be released after 3 pm
I think any time after 3 pm they (Rajesh & Nupur Talwar) should be walking out of the jail: Tanveer Ahmed Mir, Talwars' lawyer pic.twitter.com/ZsmEyC1fQx
— ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2017
10:37 (IST)
Talwars' to continue to visit prison for treatment of inmates
The dentist couple had helped revive the near "defunct" dental department at the prison hospital and they will continue to visit the prison every 15 days to help with the treatment of inmates, a jail official said
Tyagi said besides prisoners, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar have also been treating jail staff, police officials and their children. Sources in the jail said Rajesh Talwar's brother Dinesh Talwar, who is an ophthalmologist, would also visit the prison every 15 days along with his team to see patients.
10:28 (IST)
'Talwars could have earned 49,000 in jail for treating inmates': Dasna jail authorities laud dentist couple for free service
Talwars gave medical service for free,refused remuneration.If they would've taken it, amount would've been appx Rs 49,500: Jailor,Dasna Jail pic.twitter.com/rRAfn8PQfc
— ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2017
09:58 (IST)
Talwar family to visit Dasna prison to welcome Rajesh, Nupur
Nupur Talwar's father and some other members of the family are likely to visit the Dasna prison today ahead of the dentist couple's release today. The family will leave for Ghaziabad court around noon from their Noida residence.
08:53 (IST)
Nupur and Rajesh Talwar to be released today
A certified copy of the Allahabad High Court verdict was handed over to the Talwars' lawyers late in Friday evening, which will today be submitted in the Ghaziabad CBI court, which will direct jail authorities to begin formalities for Rajesh and Nupur Talwar's release. The Talwar couple is likely to be released later in the afernoon.
08:50 (IST)
Updates for 16 October begin
22:09 (IST)
CBI concocted murder theories, claims former Talwar lawyer Rebecca John
Calling it a long and emotional fight, the Talwars' ex-lawyer Rebecca John told CNN-News18, "CBI didn't look at facts. It went out of its way to establish it's own theory."
22:06 (IST)
Talwars' former lawyer Rebecca John says CBI ignored facts
'This is nothing but a total acquittal of Talwars' Rebecca John, Talwar’s Lawyer, to @bhupendrachaube on #Viewpointpic.twitter.com/87tpTXNzRW
— News18 (@CNNnews18) October 13, 2017
20:23 (IST)
Cannot rule out possibility of presence of outsider in Talwars' flat, says Allahabad HC
The Allahabad High Court has said that the possibility of presence of outsiders and persons other than domestic help Hemraj in the Noida residence of the Talwars could not be ruled on the fateful night in the Aarushi murder case.
On the basis of the record and statements of witnesses, Justices BK Narayana and AK Mishra said a clear and credible evidence of alternative hypothesis available on record substantially demolished the prosecution's theory that the crime was committed by 14-year-old Aarushi's parents Nupur and Rajesh Talwar alone.
"The possibility of the presence of other persons and the outsiders besides Hemraj having accessed to the apartment on the fateful night cannot be ruled out and the clear and credible evidence of alternative hypothesis available on record substantially demolishes the prosecution's theory that the crime was committed by the appellants alone as there was no proof of any outsiders having accessed...the apartment," it said.
19:51 (IST)
Mediapersons crowd near the entrance of Dasna jail in Ghaziabad expecting Talwars' release
19:32 (IST)
Allahabad HC dismisses CBI theory that Talwars' killed Aarushi, Hemraj after finding about their 'sexual relations'
The judgment said there was no evidence to support that Rajesh and Nupur Talwar killed their daughter and servant in a fit of rage and grave provocation, reported News18. Furthermore, the court dismissed the postmortem doctor's testimony about sexual relations between Aarushi and Hemraj.
“We have no hesitation in holding that the prosecution has failed to prove by any reliable or cogent evidence, the motive suggested by the prosecution for the appellants to commit the double murder, i.e. the deceased being caught in the midst of a sexual act on the fateful night by Dr Rajesh Talwar who suddenly got so gravely provoked that he committed their murder,” the high court said.
19:20 (IST)
Aarushi murder can be solved only if CBI admits to loopholes, says author Avirook Sen
Speaking to Moneycontrol.com, author of the book Aarushi, Avirook Sen said, "Until the time the CBI acknowledges their mistakes, there will be no resolution."
Sen, who has been supporting Talwars' release, expressed his relief on their acquittal. "The gross miscarriage of justice that occurred in Ghaziabad four years ago has been corrected in Allahabad on Thursday," he said.
19:06 (IST)
Allahabad HC points to possibility of evidence tampering
The judgment also notes that the investigating agency tampered with the evidence during the course of the investigation . The State claimed that a golf club was used to effect the murder, but the golf club was not kept properly during the course of the investigation and the court explicitly records that it was tampered with.
Now, why did the agency leave the heads of the golf clubs uncovered? The DNA evidence (if any) would have been on the head of the golf club, but the agency failed to preserve the evidence resulting in the evidence being tampered with. There is a rule in Indian Law called the best evidence rule. What it means is if one is leading evidence about something, it must be the best available evidence that they can lead. But in this case, by failing to preserve the evidence, the agency failed to ensure that the best evidence was available. This put the entire DNA report in doubt. Though they also failed to establish the golf club was the weapon used to commit the crime.
18:53 (IST)
Aarushi murder case perfect example of what's wrong with India's investigative agencies
Throughout the judgement of the Allahabad High Court, one sees the many lapses by the CBI, some procedural and some that led to the evidence itself being tampered.
For example with respect to the admissibility of the internet records. The State sought to rely on usage logs provided by Airtel to show that the Talwars were not asleep at the time they claimed they were. There was a lot of information to this effect including a new dynamic IP being assigned to their router around 2 am in the morning. These logs were at Kar 21 and 22 of the record. However, the CBI failed to adhere to the necessary procedural guidelines required to submit electronic records. In 2000, the Parliament passed the Information Technology Act which amended the law of evidence allowing for electronic records to be made admissible. All the law requires is that the person relying on the electronic record submit a certificate under Section 65B of the Evidence Act, 1872 to make the record admissible. The certificate basically needs to say that the print out is the exact reproduction of what is in the system.
"The evidence relating to the electronic record being a special provision, the general law on secondary evidence under Section 63 read with Section 65B of the Evidence Act shall yield to the same. The certificate issued under Section 65B must conform to the requirements prescribed under Section 65B of the Evidence Act. Thus in view of the law declared by the Apex Court in the case of P.V. Anvar (supra), the CDRs Ext. Ka21 and Ext. Ka22 were not admissible in evidence as the same were not accompanied by the certificate in terms of Section 65B obtained at the time of taking the document, without which, the secondary evidence pertaining to the aforesaid electronic records was inadmissible." (Para 124 of the Main Opinion)
A simple procedural requirement mandated under law, rendered the two pieces of evidence inadmissible. All the inference that the State attempted to draw form those two pieces was also consequently left inadmissible.
18:45 (IST)
Talwars' routine in the jail after acquittal
Sources told News18 that Nupur Talwar spoke to other prisoners on how their cases. "She got done with her morning pooja, then interacted with children and other women prisoners. The other prisoners asked her how to go about their cases so as to get acquitted. She didn’t do anything else, and just stayed in her cell," said sources.
Nupur's husband, Rajesh Talwar went to his clinic at 8 am. "Usually he sees 15-20 patients a day, but on Friday he attended to almost 50 patients till 1 pm. There were people who wanted to meet him and made special requests for seeing him for their medical concerns since they all knew he could leave anytime," according to sources.
18:39 (IST)
'Aarushi wanted to be a pediatrician,' says grandmother
Speaking to CNN-News18 in her Jalvayu Vihar Apartment, Nupur Talwar's mother and Aarushi grandmother Lata Chitnis said, "Aarushi wanted to be a pediatrician. She was a bright girl. We never could have imagined all that has happened to our family. I remember everything as it were yesterday."
She was relieved upon hearing the judgment. "Both my daughter and Son-in-law have suffered beyond imagination. I'm so relieved after high court's judgement. I can't wait for them to return home," she said.
18:28 (IST)
'Graver the crime, greater should be the standard of proof'
The Allahabad High Court has said the circumstances of the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case on being collectively considered did not lead to the "irresistible conclusion" that Nupur and Rajesh Talwar alone were the perpetrators of crime in question.
In their 273-page verdict, Justices BK Narayana and AK Mishra said in view of the principles propounded by the Supreme Court they were adopting the view favourable to the Talwars.
They quoted an apex court ruling that underlined "graver the crime, greater should be the standard of proof".
- PTI
18:20 (IST)
Two pillow covers which point towards outsider's involvement in murder
The key turning point in the case which led to a full-blown trial and pointed towards the Talwars' innocence was when the two pillow covers were recovered: One was Hemraj's pillowcase from the Talwars' flat, and the second, a purple pillow cover belonging to Krishna — one of Hemraj's three Nepali friends — with Hemraj's blood on it seized from Krishna's house who lived in L-14, Jalavayu Vihar, a few houses away.
The presence of Hemraj's blood on Krishna's pillow cover pointed to an outsider's involvement in the murder, disputing CBI's claims of Rajesh and Nupur Talwar being responsible for the murders.
Strangely, days after lawyer Rebecca John filed the affidavit, two photographs of the exhibits materialised on 10 March, 2011. Each of the photographs showed two pillow covers, one belonging to Hemraj and other to Krishna's, with scraps of paper having handwritten markings labelling them. However, these did not resemble any stationery from Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad, which tested the two pieces of evidence.
In the initial report submitted in 2008, Hemraj's pillow cover was labelled as Z-14 and Krishna's Z-20. But in the photographs shown in 2011, the labels were interchanged which meant that Hemraj's DNA was found on his own pillow cover and nothing on Krishna's. The court was shown these photos and told it was a result of "a typographical error". Moreover, the photograph was not submitted to the court as evidence but merely waved in front of the judge.
18:17 (IST)
Allahabad HC slams CBI for misdirecting CDFD report
18:11 (IST)
High Court rejects "typographical" labelling error in two pillow cases recovered
The Allahabad High Court refused to accept CBI's contention that the two pillowcases were wrongly labelled and the one found with Hemraj's blood did not belong to Krishna — one of Hemraj's Nepalese friends in the house on the night of the murder, reported CNN-News18.
17:58 (IST)
Rajesh and Nupur Talwar not to be released today
#FLASH Rajesh & Nupur Talwar not to be released from Dasna jail today, lawyer of the Talwars' Tanvir Mir Ahmed tells ANI #AarushiMurderCasepic.twitter.com/n4mc8j4INT
— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2017
16:50 (IST)
CBI seeking to salvage reputation by contemplating filing a plea against Talwars' acquittal
Under the Code of Criminal Procedure an automatic right to appeal to the supreme court lies only in two cases:
a) Where a person has been sentenced to death and the sentence has been confirmed by the High Court.
b) When a person was acquitted by the Trial Court and then subsequently convicted by the High Court and sentenced to either death, life imprisonment or imprisonment for more than ten years.
The CBI has said that it is considering moving the Supreme Court to appeal against the acquittal no doubt in an attempt to apply the time and tested Bollywood principle of "picture abhi be baki hai". After goofing up the investigation so badly, the CBI perhaps seeks to make one last attempt to salvage its reputation as an investigating agency that can be tasked with investigating murders by making an appeal to the Supreme Court.
But unfortunately for the CBI it has to first convince the Supreme Court that it has a case worth appealing. Leave to appeal is vital before the Criminal Appeal will be sustained. Also as acquitted people, the Talwar's won't spend time in jail while their appeal is being heard.
16:27 (IST)
Ex-CBI officer says criminal justice system needs overhaul
ADG BSF Arun Kumar, who had headed a CBI team into the Aarushi Talwar murder case, on Thursday called for a review of criminal justice system following the acquittal of the Talwar couple by the Allahabad High Court.
"It is a well-discussed case. Subject to the confirmation of the court (about Talwar couple being innocent), think of the family and what has happened to them. Let us review our criminal justice system," Arun Kumar told PTI.
16:19 (IST)
Talwars' routine in Dasna jail a day after their acquittal
#EXCLUSIVE CNN-News18 learns inside details of Talwars' day in prison: Nupur Talwar gave advice to other female inmates on their court cases pic.twitter.com/4Z9iQqoJps
— News18 (@CNNnews18) October 13, 2017
16:14 (IST)
Read: Full text of Allahabad High Court judgment here
The court observed: "In our considered opinion, the circumstances are neither conclusive in nature nor they exclude every possible hypothesis except the one of the guilt of the appellant. The chain of circumstances in this case is not complete so as not to leave any reasonable ground for the conclusion consistent with the innocence of the appellant... We do not find any reason to fasten the appellants with the guilt of double murder merely on the proof of the deceased being last seen alive with the appellants in their flat in the night of 15.05.2008 specially in view of the alternative hypothesis of the double murder covenanted in the prosecution case itself."
16:11 (IST)
Talvar director Meghna Gulazar relieved upon hearing verdict
A day after the Allahabad High Court acquitted Nupur and Rajesh Talwar of the double homicide, Meghna Gulzar has been receiving numerous calls, many of them congratulating her for what the Talvar team had made possible — making the public aware that the widely-publicised version of the case may not necessarily be the truth.
“I always believed there wasn't enough conclusive evidence to put these two people in jail, and I’ve been saying that for the past three years,” Meghna told Firstpost. “I don't know who killed Aarushi and Hemraj. I am not saying there is enough evidence to convict the other suspects in the case. But I do know that there wasn’t enough evidence to give Rajesh and Nupur Talwar a life sentence for murdering their daughter. I believed this when the news broke out, I believed it through the making of Talvar — although I didn’t let that affect its making.”
"My first and most instinctive reaction on hearing the verdict was one of relief, because you know, you’ve told a story, you know the facts, you know that something has happened that is not quite right; but you really can’t do much more than tell the story and hope for things to get better. I always prayed that the film that we all worked so hard to make would serve a higher purpose. And the verdict today just proved that the truth prevails — as that is what that really matters," Gulzar said.
16:02 (IST)
15:57 (IST)
15:53 (IST)
Security deployed around Dasna jail
Extra security personnel were deployed around the jail, about 12 kilometres from Ghaziabad town near the Indian capital.
-PTI
15:51 (IST)
15:49 (IST)
Dasna jail closes by 7.30 - 8 pm
Jail closes by 7:30-8 PM. After receiving the order, procedure in jail takes just half an hour: Dasna Jail Superintendent Dadhiram Maurya
— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2017
15:45 (IST)
If release order comes today, Talwars will be released: Dasna jail officials
If order comes today before the jail closure, they'll be released today itself but possibility is less:Dasna Jail Superintendent on #Talwarspic.twitter.com/lUrV59C3dL
— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2017
15:43 (IST)
Justice Mishra points out norms to be followed by the trial judge
In his judgment, Justice Mishra the trial Judge should act with utmost circumspection and caution:
"(1) The parochial and narrow approach to the facts and evidence should be avoided and evidence of a particular case has to be read and construed on its face value in line with the statutory requirement.
(2) The passionate and rash reasoning should not be the guiding factor while scrutinizing evidence, facts and circumstances of a criminal case.
(3) The self-perception and realm should not be reflected on analogy of the facts and evidence on record.
(4) The judgment should not be based on self-created postulates.
(5) The imagination should not be given a concrete form and transparency of approach must be reflected in the judgment."
Justice Mishra held it appeared that the trial court was "unaware" of the solemn duty cast by the law as the judge and dealt with the entire case "in style. A finesse".
15:38 (IST)
HC says trial court could not act like a maths teacher
In strong remarks, Justice Mishra said that the trial court could not act like a maths teacher who was solving a mathematical question by analogy after taking certain figure for granted.
"In all criminal trials, analogies must be drawn and confined within the domain and realm of the evidence, facts and circumstances on record and any analogy which brings facts, circumstances and evidence so placed in certain domain outside the periphery of that domain then that would be a case of certain aberration deviating from the main path," the high court judge said.
15:31 (IST)
Allahabad HC chastises trial court judge for telling 'different story' with 'vitriolic' reasoning
Allowing the appeals of the Talwars against the CBI court order, Justices BK Narayana and AK Mishra of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday acquitted the couple, saying that neither the circumstances nor the evidence was enough to hold them guilty.
In "absolute agreement" with Justice Narayana in giving the Talwars the benefit of doubt, Justice Mishra said, "The learned trial Judge has prejudged things in his own fashion, drawn conclusion by embarking on erroneous analogy conjecturing to the brim on apparent facts telling a different story propelled by vitriolic reasoning."
"Thus, basing the finding of conviction without caring to see that it being a case based on circumstantial evidence things cannot be presumed and stuffed in a manner like the present one by adhering to self-created postulates then to roam inside the circle with all fanciful whim," he said.
15:29 (IST)
14:39 (IST)
Talwars likely to be released on Monday, not today
As Uttar Pradesh rules, a certified copy of the order is needed to release the couple. The copy is likely to received on Friday evening which will be presented in the Ghaziabad court on Monday, according to News18.
#WhoKilledAarushi| Talwars likely to be released from jail on Monday. Delay in release as certified copy of HC judgement needed| @SubhajitSGpic.twitter.com/V12tYGzuZA
— News18 (@CNNnews18) October 13, 2017
13:44 (IST)
Mediapersons wait for Nupur and Rajesh Talwar outside Dasna prison
A large crowd of mediapersons camped outside Dasna Jail from early morning Friday, keeping a close watch on every movement in and out of the high-security prison that had housed Rajesh and Nupur Talwar for four years. The crowds, including curious onlookers, grew as the day progressed, everybody waiting for the Talwars to walk out of jail and back into the unrelenting media spotlight.
As the sensational murder case, which continues to remain a mystery, dominated television news and newspaper headlines once again, the media descended outside the jail hoping to capture every moment of their release – and any bits of information about their life inside jail.
13:29 (IST)
After the release Talwars might live in Nupur Talwar's father's house
The guards at the Jalvayu Vihar society told reporters that after being released from Dasna jail, the Talwars might live in the house of Nupur Talwar's father, who
lived a few blocks away in Sector 25, as tenants were currently living in their apartment.
Before their arrest, the couple was living in Hauz Khas.
13:27 (IST)
The Talwars don't live at their flat anymore
Another family now lives at L-32 Jalvayu Vihar in Noida where 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar was found dead. Since Thursday, the family has been dodging reporters and the media spotlight that has returned to the flat after Rajesh and Nupur Talwar were acquitted.
Persistent reporters assembled outside the house from 7 am just in case the Talwars returned to their home after their release from Dasna jail in Ghaziabad. Scribes intermittently pressed the buzzer seeking permission to shoot the inside the house but the door remained steadfastly shut. - PTI
13:22 (IST)
What were the mistakes committed during the probe?
Witnesses were coerced
Judgment was formed before the trial began
Ghaziabad court ignored lapses of the agencies
Where were the murder weapons?
Read the entire report here
13:18 (IST)
Allahabad HC order copy to be sent via fax to Dasna jail
The copy of the Allahabad High Court order will be sent via fax to Dasna Jail, said the Talwars' lawyer.
13:01 (IST)
Two pillow covers could have proved Rajesh-Nupur's innocence sooner
he key turning point in the case which led to a full-blown trial and pointed towards the Talwars' innocence was when the two pillow covers were recovered: One was Hemraj's pillowcase from the Talwars' flat, and the second, a purple pillow cover belonging to Krishna — one of Hemraj's three Nepali friends — with Hemraj's blood on it seized from Krishna's house who lived in L-14, Jalavayu Vihar, a few houses away.
Read the entire analysis here
12:45 (IST)
Omar Abdullah reacts to the Allahabad High Court's verdict
Don’t know who killed #Arushi & will probably never know but what I do know is the police made a total dogs breakfast of the investigation.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) October 12, 2017
The law presumes innocence until guilt is established beyond reasonable doubt. Innocent till proven guilty is bedrock of criminal law. https://t.co/5fkVqCRMab
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) October 12, 2017
12:43 (IST)
WATCH: Nupur Talwar's interview to Vartika Nanda
12:41 (IST)
The world inside jail is less judgemental: Nupur Talwar
A new video interview of Nupur Talwar has come up on Youtube. In an interview with Vartika Nanda, a journalist who has worked on prison reforms, Nupur talks about her life in jail, about what she learnt from the harrowing experience of losing a child.
"The sort of love and respect we got in jail, we probably didn't get it even outside it. The world here is less judgmental, they don't question your character. The manner in which we were accused, the way in which people character-assassinated Aarushi...all this didn't happen here. People just accepted us. They gave us emotional support when we most wanted it. They always consoled us, that one day this prison sentence will end and we’ll walk out of this jail."
The Talwar couple, who have been acquitted in the 2008 murder case of their teenage daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj, are likely to be released from Dasna Jail on Monday.
The Talwars have been lodged in Dasna jail since November 2013 in connection with the twin murders. Dasna Jail Superintendent Dadhiram Maurya said, "we have not received the court order as yet. We will release them once we get it."
File image of Aarushi Talwar's father Rajesh Talwar. PTI
He said there were two methods to complete the process of releasing a prisoner from jail. "Either the Allahabad High Court sends its order copy directly to jail authorities or it is sent through the CBI court concerned which awarded them life sentence," he said.
"In 99 percent cases we get order copy through post. If we are handed over the hard copy of the order we will release them," Maurya added.
The Allahabad High Court had on Thursday acquitted the Talwars in the case, saying neither the circumstances nor the evidence was enough to hold them guilty.
The verdict ends, at least for now, the nine-year ordeal of the Noida couple who were sentenced to life by a Ghaziabad CBI court on 28 November, 2013 for the double murders that not only transfixed but also shook the nation with its element of filicide.
With the acquittal, the central question in the bizarre mystery resurfaces — who killed the 14-year-old girl and the 45-year-old man.
Published Date: Oct 16, 2017 11:32 am | Updated Date: Oct 16, 2017 11:47 am
