Why was Rajesh, Nupur Talwar's release delayed in daughter Aarushi's murder case?

Three days after the Allahabad High Court acquitted Rajesh and Nupur Talwar of the murder of their teenage daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj, the dentist couple will finally walk out of Dasna jail in Ghaziabad on Monday.

The high court had overturned a CBI court verdict, strongly criticising CBI for ‘miserably failing’ to prove the Talwar couple’s crime and the special court’s judgement for propounding ‘vitriolic’ theories rather than sticking to basic tenets of law. The high court judgement was a major relief for the Talwars, who had been incarcerated in the Dasna jail since 2013 after their only child was found murdered in her bedroom.

The delay in the Talwar couple’s release, even after their acquittal, was attributed to court holidays and the fact that the certified copy of the Allahabad High Court order acquitting them failed to reach the prison authorities on Friday. The release formalities will further take some more time, before Rajesh and Nupur can walk free. Here is a gist of the formalities and paperwork involved in a person’s release from prison after their acquittal.

The highlights of the high court judgement were read out in the court with further reports trickling into media, fueling speculations over the Talwar couple’s release. However, the final copy of the voluminous judgement was available only on Friday morning.

The jail authorities can only release a person after they receive the certified copy of the court’s order directing their release. The copy of the judgement is usually sent by post to the prison authorities, or the person’s lawyer can submit it in person.

In the Talwar couple’s case, their lawyers received the copy of the judgement only late on Friday evening .

“We have received a certified copy of the order of the Allahabad High Court. It is expected that they (Rajesh and Nupur) will walk out of the jail on Monday,” Vandana Talwar, Aarushi’s aunt had told PTI .

“It is our norm during the period 1 October to 31 March that any such orders received by 4:30pm are executed the same day. The orders received after this are executed the next day. Once we close down the jail by 8pm, no outside person is allowed," DR Maurya, jail superintendent of Dansa prison told Hindustan Times .

There are 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,” Maurya said.

Since the CBI still has the option to appeal in a higher court against the Talwars’ acquittal, the dentist couple will also have to furnish a bond guaranteeing that they will be available in case the investigative agency decides to approach the Supreme Court. Therefore, a certified copy of the high court order will be sent to the special CBI Court in Ghaziabad. The Talwars’ lawyer will have to execute a bond for the period of appeal granted to the CBI — three months in this case — guaranteeing that Rajesh and Nupur will show up in court if need be.

Once this is done, the certified copy of the order will be sent to Dasna prison authorities, following which Nupur and Rajesh will be given their belongings seized at the time they were committed to the prison. The acquitted persons are also entitled to receive the remuneration they earned during their stay in prison, however, the Talwar couple has chosen to relinquish their earnings for treating the inmates, roughly amounting to Rs 49,500. The couple is expected to be released anytime after 3 pm on Monday.