Graham Staines Murder: Supreme Court Asks Odisha To Decide Dara Singh's Remission Plea By Aug. 15

Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: More than 26 years after the killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons shocked the nation and drew global condemnation, the Supreme Court has directed the Odisha government to take a decision on the remission plea of the case's prime convict, Dara Singh, by August 15.

The development came during the hearing of Singh's petition seeking premature release after serving over two decades in prison. While speaking to reporters outside the court, his counsel, advocate A.P. Singh, on Tuesday claimed that the apex court had ordered his client's release by Independence Day. However, legal sources indicated that the court has asked the Odisha government and the State Sentence Review Board to take a final decision on the remission application by August 15. The matter is expected to be taken up again by the Supreme Court on August 19 after the state places its decision on record.

The Bench was informed that the remission proposal was still under consideration as certain documents and procedural formalities were pending. Expressing dissatisfaction over the prolonged delay, the court fixed a timeline for the state government to complete the process.

Dara Singh, whose real name is Rabindra Kumar Pal, is serving a life sentence as the principal convict in the sensational triple murder that occurred in January 1999.

On the night of January 22, 1999, Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his sons, Philip, aged 10, and Timothy, aged 6, were sleeping inside their station wagon at Manoharpur village in Odisha's Keonjhar district after attending a Christian gathering. A mob allegedly led by Dara Singh surrounded the vehicle, set it on fire and prevented the occupants from escaping. All three were burnt alive.

The brutal killings sparked outrage across India and abroad, with governments, human rights organisations and religious bodies condemning the attack.

Following a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, Dara Singh was convicted as the main conspirator. A trial court sentenced him to death in 2003. However, the Orissa High Court commuted the sentence to life imprisonment in 2005, ruling that the case did not fall within the "rarest of rare" category. The Supreme Court upheld the life sentence in 2011 while affirming his conviction.