Case was based on innuendos, assumptions, says Talwars' lawyer

Senior lawyer Rebecca John, who was part of the legal team that argued for the Talwar couple, today hailed the Allahabad High Court judgement, saying the case against them was based on "innuendos" and "assumptions".

She hoped that Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, who have been in sharp media spotlight for over nine years, will be allowed privacy after their release from jail.

"The fact is that the entire case was based on innuendos and assumptions. There was no credible evidence against the couple. The CBI conducted it in a manner which is not becoming of a probe agency," John told PTI.
 

She said there was no credible evidence against the dentist couple, who were accused of killing their daughter Aarushi, something which she has been maintaining from the very beginning.

John said the Talwar couple has been in the eye of a "media storm" for nearly a decade and they should now be allowed to lead their lives as private citizens.

"It has been a very, very long fight and it has been an emotionally wrenching fight. The team of lawyers in Allahabad comprising Tanveer Ahmed Mir and Dileep Kumar did an absolutely amazing job," she said.

Radhika Chadda, a friend of the Talwars, said the couple has been holding together very well because they are "innocent and have faith in the truth".

"I have been in touch with them over the years and their belief in the legal system kept them going. They maintained sanity by practising dentistry that they are so skilled at.

"They have been operating a clinic from the jail, which I believe, is the best clinic in the entire Ghaziabad district," she said.

The Allahabad High Court today acquitted the Talwar couple, saying they could not be held guilty on the basis of the evidence on record.

The verdict ends the ordeal of the parents who were found guilty by a CBI court in the sensational double murder.

A division bench of the court comprising justices B K Narayana and A K Mishra upheld the appeals by the Talwars against the Ghaziabad CBI court order sentencing them to life imprisonment on November 26, 2013.

Aarushi was found dead inside her room in the Talwars' Noida residence with her throat slit in May 2008. The needle of suspicion had initially moved towards 45-year-old domestic help Hemraj, who had gone missing but his body was recovered from the terrace of the house a day later.