The Supreme Court has modified the death sentence imposed...

The Supreme Court has modified the death sentence imposed on two accused in a multiple murder case into life imprisonment on the ground that death sentence could be awarded only to those who could not be reformed or rehabilitated and if they constituted a continuing threat to society.
A three-Judge Bench, comprising Justice M.B. Shah, Justice B.P. Singh and Justice H.K. Sema, which also confirmed the life imprisonment awarded to the third accused, however, made it clear that the three accused "shall not be released before completing an actual term of 20 years (in jail) including the period already undergone by them."
The accused, Ram Anup Singh, Babban Singh and Lallan Singh, caused the murder of the four-member family in March 1997 in a village in Bihar.
The trial court had awarded the capital punishment to all the three and the High Court confirmed it in respect of Babban Singh and Lallan Singha and awarded life imprisonment to Ram Anup.