The sentence against Saranya will be pronounced on Friday, 23 January.
Published Jan 19, 2026 | 3:53 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 19, 2026 | 3:53 PM
Murder. (Representative image)
Synopsis: Additional Sessions Judge KN Prashanth held that the prosecution had produced strong and credible circumstantial and scientific evidence establishing Saranya’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Evidence included clothes and footwear recovered from the accused that bore traces of salt water from the seashore, and medical findings that indicated the murder occurred within hours of the child being breastfed.
In a verdict that brought closure to a case which had shaken Kerala’s conscience, the Thaliparambu Additional District and Sessions Court on Monday, 19 January, found Saranya, the mother of one-and-a-half-year-old Viaan, guilty of murdering her child by throwing him into the sea at Thayyil in Kannur district.
The court acquitted the second accused, Saranya’s alleged partner Nithin, citing lack of evidence to prove conspiracy, instigation or abetment.
The sentence against Saranya will be pronounced on Friday, 23 January.
Additional Sessions Judge KN Prashanth held that the prosecution had produced strong and credible circumstantial and scientific evidence establishing Saranya’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Evidence included clothes and footwear recovered from the accused that bore traces of salt water from the seashore, and medical findings that indicated the murder occurred within hours of the child being breastfed.
The murder took place in the early hours of 17 February, 2020.
According to the prosecution, Saranya took Viaan from her house at Thayyil Koduvally to the nearby beach and threw him into the sea.
When the child survived and cried, she allegedly picked him up again and hurled him against the sea wall, ensuring his death.
The child’s body was later found on the sea wall, about 50 metres from Saranya’s house, following a search by locals and the police.
The chargesheet alleged that Saranya committed the crime to rid herself of the child, whom she considered an obstacle to living a comfortable life with her partner, and to falsely implicate her estranged husband, Pranav.
While Nithin was accused of conspiracy, the court ruled that the prosecution failed to substantiate these charges. The judge also criticised the investigating officer for lapses and for acting as “moral police” during the probe.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
