Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday discussed possible options regarding the five Indian fishermen who were recently sentenced to death by Sri Lankan Court.

Presidential media has confirmed that the leaders discussed a range of issues including the fishermen's sentence in a telephone conversation.

While local media reports in India on Monday said the fishermen may be transferred to an Indian prison, official sources in the President's office told The Hindu that a final decision was yet to be taken.

Narendra Modi and Mahinda Rajapaksa are likely to meet this month in Nepal on the sidelines of the SAARC summit where the matter is likely to be taken up again.

The Colombo High Court sentenced to death five fishermen -- Emerson, P. Augustus, R. Wilson, K. Prasath and J. Langlet -- on October 30 on charges of smuggling heroin. They were arrested in 2011.

The Indian government has engaged a senior counsel in Colombo to appear for the fishermen. New Delhi has maintained that the fishermen are innocent and sources there said they were in possession of GPS data that could potentially serve as crucial evidence.