Zeenews Bureau
Ghaziabad: A court here on Friday formally framed charges of murder and destruction of evidence against the dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in the 2008 double murder case of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj.
The court will next hear the case June 4.
Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Judge S Lal yesterday had ruled that Nupur Talwar and Rajesh Talwar were charged with the crime under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 302/34 (murder with common intention) and 201/34 (destruction of evidence with common intention).
Rajesh Talwar was also charged under IPC sections 203/34 (misleading police about the crime with common intention).
Aarushi, 14, was found murdered at her parents' Noida residence May 16, 2008. The body of Hemraj was found the next day on the terrace of the house.
Arguing on behalf of Talwars Wednesday, the defence counsel had refuted the prosecution case that their clients could have killed 14-year-old Aarushi and their domestic help Hemraj after having seen them in an objectionable position.
The counsel had contended that the Talwar couple were practicing doctors, had an intercaste marriage and belonged to the elite class of the society and could not have stooped to a level of provocation so as to kill their only daughter.
The defence had also refuted the CBI's case that since there were four people in the house, the onus was on Nupur and Rajesh to explain what happened on the fateful night of May 15-16, 2008.
It had said the Talwars had gone to sleep and Hemraj had access to the entire house and could have allowed entry of outsiders who could have carried out the killings.
While Rajesh is out on bail, Nupur is lodged in the Dasna jail in Ghaziabad.
First Published: Friday, May 25, 2012, 14:21