In a major verdict in the 2008 Aarushi Talwar murder case, the Allahabad High Court today acquitted Rajesh and Nupur Talwar of killing their daughter.
The High Court gave 'benefit of doubt' to Talwars and said that 'no chain of evidence' could be established.
The court slammed the probe agency and said, 'We are not satisfied with the probe as there are many faults.'
Aarushi's mother Nupur Talwar said that 'we have got justice'.
The teenager's grandfather also reacted to the acquittal and said that 'grateful for the acquittal; we always knew that they were not guilty.'
The CBI, however, said, We are waiting for the copy of the judgment. We will decide our next course of action after studying it.'
The verdict came four years after Aarushi's parents were convicted for the killing their only daughter.
Aarushi's parents were sentenced to life after a court in Uttar Pradesh convicted them for the gruesome killings of their daughter and their domestic help Hemraj in 2013.
A High Court bench comprising Justice BK Narayana and Justice AK Mishra reserved its verdict in September in the appeal filed by Aarushi's parents.
“On November 26, 2013, the CBI announced life imprisonment to the Talwar couple. Today, the appeal filed by them will be heard and I believe they will get justice,” Sunil Maurya, writer of book 'Ek thi Aarushi' told news agency ANI.
On May 16, 2008, Aarushi was found murdered inside her bedroom in the flat in Noida's Jal Vayu Vihar and her throat slit with surgical precision.
It was initially suspected that Hemraj had killed Aarushi. However, the case took a shocking turn when Hemraj's body was recovered two days later from the terrace of the same flat.
The police then began to suspect the Talwars and said Aarushi's father Rajesh had murdered the two after finding them in an 'objectionable' position. The accusations enraged the Talwars and friends, who accused the police of framing the dentist couple in order to cover up a botched investigation.
After widespread outrage, the case was transferred from the Uttar Pradesh Police to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) that exonerated the parents and suspected the Talwars' assistant Krishna along with two domestic servants, Rajkumar Sharma and Vijay Mandal.
In 2009, the CBI handed over the investigation to a new team, which recommended closing the case due to critical gaps in investigation.
Based on circumstantial evidence, it named Rajesh as the sole suspect, but refused to charge him due to lack of evidence.
Rajesh was first arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police on May 23, 2008 after which he was lodged at Dasna Jail and let off on July 11, 2008.
Later in 2012, his wife Nupur surrendered before a Ghaziabad court before trial and was also sent to Dasna Jail.
