In 2009, Surinder Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher were convicted in a gruesome case that shocked the nation.

In 2006, body parts were found near their home near Delhi.

The Allahabad High Court acquitted Koli in 12 cases in which he had been sentenced to death on Monday.

Additionally, Pandher was freed in the two cases in which he had been convicted. “Lack of evidence” led to the two men’s acquittal, their lawyer said. There has been no release of the full court judgment.

A sewer in front of Moninder Singh Pandher’s house in Noida, a wealthy suburb of the capital, was found with body parts and children’s clothing in 2006.

A total of 19 young women and children were raped, killed, and dismembered. Koli worked as a servant in Pandher’s house, where the murders allegedly took place.

Koli, who offered the children sweets and chocolate, lured them to their deaths, according to police, whose remains were found in bags. Koli confessed to cannibalism and necrophilia during the investigation, they alleged. In court, he later retracted his confession, saying he had been beaten.

The CBI, India’s top investigation agency, filed 19 cases against the two men. Koli was charged with murder, abduction, rape, and destruction of evidence, while Pandher was charged with immoral trafficking.

National outrage followed the murders, with many accusing the police of negligence. Because of the shocking nature of the crimes, the media nicknamed it “the house of horrors”.