Aarushi Talwar murder case: Rajesh, Nupur likely to be released on Monday; HC says outsider involvement can't be ruled out

A day after their acquittal in the 2008 murder case of their teenage daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar are likely to be released from Dasna jail in Ghaziabad on Monday. “There is no possibility of release of Rajesh and Nupur Talwar from Dasna jail today (Friday) as we have not received the court order copy so far. Their release may take place on Monday as tomorrow is second Saturday,” lawyer of the Talwars Tanvir Mir Ahmed told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_1257853” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Aarushi’s parents Nupur and Rajesh Talwar. PTI[/caption] Dasna jail superintendent Dadhiram Maurya said, “We have not received the court order as yet. We will release them once we get it.” 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 the jail authorities or it is sent through the CBI court concerned which awarded them the life sentence,” he said. Extra security personnel has been deployed around the jail, which is situated about 12 kilometres from Ghaziabad town and is close to the Indian capital as well. ‘Talwars not the sole perpetrators of crime’ The Allahabad High Court has said that the circumstances of the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case on being considered collectively did not lead to the “ irresistible conclusion” that Nupur and Rajesh Talwar alone were the perpetrators of the crime in question. The Talwars had filed appeals in the Allahabad High Court after a CBI trial court on 28 November 2013 sentenced them to life for the murders of their 14-year-old daughter Aarushi and 45-year-old domestic help Hemraj in May 2008. In a 273-page verdict, a copy of which was uploaded on the court website on Friday, justices BK Narayana and AK Mishra said that they were adopting a view favourable to the Talwars in view of the principles propounded by the Supreme Court. They quoted an apex court ruling that underlined “graver the crime, greater should be the standard of proof”. The high court said, “The circumstances of this case upon being collectively considered do not lead to the irresistible conclusion that the appellants alone are the perpetrators of crime in question and on the evidence adduced in this case certainly two views are possible; one pointing to the guilt of the appellants; and the other to their innocence and in view of the principles expounded by the apex court in the case of Kali Ram (supra), we propose to adopt the view which is favourable to the appellants,” the high court said. Allahabad High Court criticises trial court judge Shyam Lal The Allahabad High Court chastised the trial court judge for telling a “different story” propelled by “vitriolic” reasoning convicting dentist couple. [caption id=“attachment_4138315” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] Additional Sessions Judge Shyam Lal in Ghaziabad had sentenced the Talwars to life imprisonment on 28 November 2013, holding them guilty in the twin murder case. 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.” 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 a certain figure for granted. Justice Mishra said it was apparent that the trial judge was “unmindful” of the basic tenets of law and its applicability to the given facts and circumstances of the case and “failed” to properly appraise facts and evaluate evidence and analyse various circumstances of this case. Day after acquittal, Talwars attend to patients, children in jail Awaiting their release, Rajesh, a dentist, on Friday attended to a rush of patients inside the prison in Dasna while his wife Nupur spent her time with the children of inmates at the jail creche. According to Dasna jail authorities, the inmates were keen to go to Talwar’s ‘clinic’ as they were expecting that he may be freed anytime. [caption id=“attachment_1192625” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Aarushi’s father Rajesh Talwar. PTI[/caption] The Noida-based dentist couple, who have been in jail since November 2013 in the murder case of their daughter Aarushi and help Hemraj, have been attending to inmates. “Most patients of Rajesh and Nupur were in a hurry to get their treatment from them on Friday after they heard the news of their acquittal by the Allahabad High Court,” Dasna jail doctor Sunil Tyagi told PTI. Tyagi said that Nupur, who is also a dentist, did not see any patients on Friday and, instead, spent some time with the children of inmates at the jail creche. Journalists gather outside Dasna jail A large crowd of media persons camped outside Dasna jail from early on Friday morning, keeping a close watch on every movement in and out of the high-security prison that had housed Rajesh and Nupur for four years. The crowds, including curious onlookers, grew as the day progressed, everybody, waiting for the Talwars to walk out of the jail and back into the unrelenting media spotlight. Several broadcast journalists, both from national and local media houses, were seen sending live feed for transmission, hanging on to every small detail and tracking every movement. Their counterparts in the print media, meanwhile, took notes and relayed ’newsy’ details over the phone. With inputs from PTI