The Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj Murders

The two victims

Aarushi Talwar was a 14-year-old school student living with her parents in Noida. On the morning of May 16, 2008, she was found dead in her bedroom. The family's household employee, Hemraj Banjade, was initially missing and was treated by police as a suspect before his body was discovered on the roof of the same residence the following day.

The discovery of Hemraj as a second victim fundamentally changed the investigation. From that point onward, the case became a double-murder inquiry involving competing theories about who had access to the residence, when each victim was killed, and what evidence could reliably establish the sequence of events.

Investigation and competing theories

Uttar Pradesh Police handled the earliest stage of the case before the investigation was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Different investigative teams reached different conclusions, and several people were questioned or detained during the inquiry. Some early suspects were later released when investigators concluded that the evidence was insufficient.

The CBI ultimately pursued a prosecution against Rajesh and Nupur Talwar. The case depended heavily on circumstantial evidence. That feature became central to the later appellate judgment because the High Court concluded that the prosecution had not established an unbroken chain of circumstances proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Trial court convictions

In November 2013, a CBI trial court in Ghaziabad convicted Rajesh and Nupur Talwar of murdering Aarushi and Hemraj and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The parents denied committing the murders and appealed.

The existence of a trial conviction does not by itself define the current legal status. In Indian criminal procedure, an appellate court may reverse a conviction when it concludes that the evidence does not satisfy the legal standard for guilt.

The 2017 acquittal

On October 12, 2017, the Allahabad High Court allowed the appeals and acquitted both Rajesh and Nupur Talwar. The court emphasized that suspicion, however serious, could not substitute for proof and held that the prosecution had failed to establish the necessary chain of circumstances beyond reasonable doubt.

The acquittal is the operative judgment governing their criminal status. This page therefore does not state or imply that either parent is presently convicted of the murders.

Supreme Court appeals

Hemraj's wife, Khumkala Banjade, challenged the acquittal. The Supreme Court admitted her appeal in 2018. The Central Bureau of Investigation also appealed, and on August 10, 2018 the Supreme Court granted leave and directed that the CBI appeal be heard with the existing criminal appeals.

A current Supreme Court case-status record generated in August 2026 continues to list Khumkala Banjade's appeal against Nupur Talwar and the related respondents as pending. No later merits judgment reversing the 2017 acquittal was located in this review.

What remains unresolved

The murders of Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj Banjade are real and undisputed. What remains unresolved is criminal responsibility. The trial court once convicted Aarushi's parents; the High Court later acquitted them; and appeals challenging that acquittal have not yet produced a final Supreme Court merits decision.

For that reason, Crime by Region classifies the file as Unsolved / appellate litigation pending. The classification reflects the absence of a current murder conviction rather than an endorsement of any alternative theory.

Timeline

Current status

As of this review on August 26, 2026, the Allahabad High Court acquittal remains operative and the related Supreme Court appeal is listed as pending. No person is described here as currently convicted of the two murders.