In Brief
Manoj Suryavanshi was convicted of murdering three minor children (aged 4, 6, and 8 years) and kidnapping them under IPC Sections 302 and 364. Both the trial court and high court sentenced him to death. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction based on circumstantial evidence: the accused was last seen with the children after they left school; their bodies were recovered from places known only to him; phone records and witness testimony established his involvement; and he had clear motive (revenge for his wife eloping with the victims' uncle). However, the Court converted the death sentence to life imprisonment, considering mitigating factors including his emotional disturbance at the time of the crime, youth (28 years old), absence of criminal record, and family hardship. Life imprisonment was ordered with a direction that no remission be granted for 25 years.
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