Thiruvananthapuram: Eight convicts in the TP Chandrasekharan murder case have approached the Supreme Court seeking remission of the sentences imposed. They also requested a stay on the Kerala High Court order, which previously ruled that the accused should not be granted any form of relaxation before serving 20 years in prison.

The first six convicts—MC Anoop, Kirmani Manoj, Kodi Suni, TK Rajeesh, KK Muhammed Shafi, and K Shinoj—were sentenced to double life imprisonment by the High Court. In their appeal, they asked the court to reduce their sentences and grant them bail as they have served 12 years in prison.

The other two, K K Krishnan and Jyoti Babu, received life sentences from the Kerala High Court after being acquitted by the trial court. They also approached the top court seeking remission. The appeal comes amid a controversy that the CPM-led LDF government was illegally attempting to commute the sentences of three convicts in the case.

T P Chandrasekharan, 52, leader of the Revolutionary Marxist Party, was hacked to death by a gang while returning home on his bike in 2012. The opposition in the state assembly also recently demanded assurance that the sentences of the prisoners will not be commuted under any circumstances.