SC commutes death sentence of Chhattisgarh triple murder convict to life imprisonment

The Supreme Court on Thursday commuted the death sentence of a convict in the 2011 Chhattisgarh triple murder case to life imprisonment and said that the convict should be kept in jail for at least 25 years.

A three-judge bench of Justices Arun Mishra, Vineet Saran, and MR Shah commuted the death sentence of convict Manoj Suryavanshi.

A Bilaspur court had on May 5, 2013, sentenced Suryavanshi to death for murdering and hiding the bodies of three children in 2011, a decision which was upheld by the Chhattisgarh High Court on August 8, 2013.

The three children, namely Vijay Dhiver (8), Ajay Dhiver (6) Sakshi Dhiver (4), were found dead in a field in Bilaspur district on February 11, 2011.

A special leave petition was filed in the Supreme Court in the matter on September 9, 2013.

Suryavanshi was working as a labourer at the house of Shivlal Dhiver, the complainant and father of the victims, when his wife -- Sumrit Bai -- went missing. Suryavanshi suspected that she had eloped with the younger brother of Dhiver, following which he killed the children.