A special CBI court delivered the verdict, five years after the chilling incident that shook the nation. Lawyers of the distraught couple, who were immediately taken back to the Dasna Jail in Ghaziabad district, said they would appeal in a higher court against the ruling.

Earlier, the CBI sought death penalty for dentist couple. Public prosecutor R K Saini said the case comes under the "rarest of rare" category as daughter Aarushi and Hemraj were found dead with their throats slit at the Talwar residence in Noida in May 2008. Counsel for the Talwars sought leniency from the court.