India says it will go ahead with prosecuting two Italian marines accused of killing two fishermen under a maritime security law that calls for a maximum 10-year punishment.
Plans earlier by India to invoke a section of the maritime security act that provides for mandatory execution for causing death had aroused fury from Rome.
"They will be tried under Section 3(1) A of the act which does not carry any death penalty," a home ministry spokesman said on Saturday.
The new section to which the ministry spokesman referred carries a maximum 10-year term and a fine for acts of violence against any person on a ship.
The marines were accused of murder over the shooting deaths of two fishermen off the coast of Kerala while serving as security guards on an Italian-flagged cargo ship in February 2012.
Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone say they mistook the fishing boat for a pirate vessel and only fired warning shots.
India has dragged its feet in starting a trial, with legal experts attributing the delay to uncertainty over which law to use to prosecute the men.
The delay prompted the Italian marines last month to ask India's Supreme Court to drop murder charges against them and allow them to return home.
To speed up the process, the top court last Monday gave the Indian government a week to make a final decision on the marines' prosecution.
The marines have been given bail and are staying at the Italian embassy in New Delhi.
