Hoping that an accused who had murdered his own mother...

Hoping that an accused who had murdered his own mother and the entire family of his brother over a land dispute might repent "for rest of life for commission of such ghastly act", the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence to a life term.
Prakash Dhawal was sentenced to death by the trial court and the high court for slaying his relatives - mother Kesarbai, brother Supadu Patil, his wife and three children - on October 23, 1996, in a village of Malegaon Tehsil in Maharashtra.
A Bench comprising Justice M B Shah and Justice R P Sethi said Dhawal would serve a life sentence but would not be released from jail before completing 20 years of imprisonment.