The Additional Sessions Court, Taliparamba, on Thursday (January 22, 2026) sentenced Saranya of Thayyil to life imprisonment for murdering her one-and-a-half-year-old son Viyan by throwing him into the sea on February 17, 2020.
She was also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh.
The sentence was pronounced by Taliparamba Additional Sessions Court Judge K.N. Prashanth around 11.00 a.m. The court rejected the prosecution’s plea for death penalty for the convict, observing that the case did not fall under the rarest of rare category.
The court had found her guilty of the crime earlier this week. The prosecution produced scientific and circumstantial evidence to establish that the child was suffocated to death before being thrown into the sea.
According to the prosecution, Saranya committed the crime to live with her lover. The child was sleeping with his father when Saranya took him away and dumped him into the sea. She had confessed that she had asphyxiated the child before disposing of his body.
Saranya’s friend Nidhin of Valiyannur, who was also named as an accused in the case, was acquitted as the prosecution could not prove charges of conspiracy and joint planning against him beyond reasonable doubt.
Published – January 22, 2026 05:15 pm IST
