the Indian Supreme Court commuted the death sentence awarded to Swami Shardanand

the Indian Supreme Court commuted the death sentence awarded to Swami Shardanand, alias Murli Manohar Mishra, by the Karnataka High Court to life imprisonment, but with a rider that the convict will remain in jail till his death. Shardanand buried alive his wife Shakereh, the ex-wife of a former Indian Ambassasdor to Australia on April 28, 1991, after he fraudulently obtained her signatures on papers transferring her entire property to him. The Karnataka High Court sentenced Swami to death in May 2005. According to the prosecution Swami administered sedatives to the deceased and when she became unconscious, he buried her alive in the backyard of his house. The case was reopened and the body was exhumed from the backyard of the house. A bench comprising Justices B N Agarwal, G S Singhvi and Aftab Alam commuted the death sentence.