Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court on Thursday is likely to pronounce its verdict on an appeal filed by dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, challenging their conviction for the murder of their teenage daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj. The couple were sentenced to life imprisonment by a special CBI court in Ghaziabad in November, 2013.

They were also convicted for the destruction of evidence with common intent, while Rajesh Talwar was additionally convicted of giving a false statement to police. A Division Bench of the High Court comprising Justices A.K. Mishra and B.K. Narayana on January 11 reserved its judgment on the appeal filed by the couple. However, it decided to hear the appeals afresh due to contradictions in some submissions made by the CBI and resumed the hearing in August. The court, thereafter, reserved its judgment to be pronounced on October 12.

Aarushi Talwar, 14, was found dead with her throat slit in her bedroom in flat no. L-32 Jalvayu Vihar in Noida in the morning of May 16, 2008. The body of Hemraj, who was initially suspected of her murder, was found in a pool of blood on the terrace of the flat the following day. The door of the terrace was found locked from inside. The case was handed over to the CBI after the Noida police was criticized for a botched up investigation, leading to the loss of crucial forensic evidence.

In his judgment in 2013, special CBI judge S. Lal said that from the evidence tendered by the prosecution, this “court reaches to the irresistible and impeccable conclusion that only the accused persons [Talwars] are responsible for committing this ghastly crime.”The trial court had also ruled that there was no evidence to show that any outsider came inside the house after 9:30 pm on the night of the murder or that there was any forcible entry in the flat.

The counsel for the Talwars had argued that the case against them had been based entirely on circumstantial evidence and that they were innocent. Tanveer Ahmed Mir, the lead defence lawyer for the Talwar couple, said his clients had a “strong case from the start.”He said the verdict of the trial court was riddled with “numerous infirmities” and that evidence was not properly appreciated. Mr. Mir told The Hindu that he expected a “hard-hitting” judgment by the HC irrespective of the fate of the Talwars, referring to the botched-up investigation by the Noida police.

“The judgment will serve as a useful precedent in trying crimes committed behind closed doors or the four walls of a house,” Mr. Mir said.