Supreme Court pulled up Odisha government over delay in deciding Dara Singh’s remission plea

The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Odisha government for repeatedly failing to take a decision on the remission plea of Ravindra Pal alias Dara Singh, who is serving a life sentence for the 1999 murder of Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two minor sons.

The Bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi expressed strong displeasure over the State’s failure to place before the Court a decision of the State Sentence Review Board on Singh’s plea for premature release.

“You take a decision whatever you want to. Otherwise we will take our own. If you don’t take a decision, we will,” the Bench told counsel appearing for the State.

“We can’t tolerate this avoiding taking a decision,” the Court observed.

The Bench noted that the matter had been adjourned repeatedly to enable the competent authority to consider Singh’s remission plea. When the matter was last heard on July 14, the State Sentence Review Board was reportedly in the process of taking a decision.

However, during Wednesday’s hearing, the State placed before the Court a letter from the Directorate of Prisons and Correctional Services stating that a report from the Keonjhar District Jail was still awaited.

The Bench questioned the relevance of the communication.

“We are not informed about the decision of the Sentence Review Board,” the Court said.

The Bench further observed:“But don’t try and dodge us by giving us the letter… How is it relevant? It is the board which has to take a decision.”

The Court made it clear that it was not concerned with how the State authorities communicated with each other and directed the competent authority to take a decision.

“We are not concerned about how you are communicating, to what authority you are communicating. You just take a decision,” the Bench said.

The matter has been posted for September 2, with the Court directing the Sentence Review Board to take a decision and apprise it of the outcome.

Last month, the Court had expressed hope that the Odisha government's Sentence Review Committee would take a decision on the remission plea of Ravindra Pal alias Dara Singh.

The Bench adjourned the hearing after the Odisha government sought a short deferment, informing the Court that the committee examining Singh's application for premature release had called for certain records, which were yet to be made available. Recording the State's submission, the Bench had observed: "In such circumstances, we deem it appropriate to adjourn this matter to 19.08.2026. In the meantime, we expect that the Committee shall take its decision."

About the plea

Singh moved the Supreme Court in 2024 seeking premature release under the Odisha Premature Release Policy, 2022, contending that he has undergone more than 26 years of imprisonment, maintained good conduct in jail, and satisfied the eligibility criteria for remission. He also relied on the principle of reformative justice and cited the Supreme Court's decision granting remission to A.G. Perarivalan, one of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

In his plea, Singh stated that he deeply regretted the offences committed over two decades ago and sought an opportunity to "give back to society" through service-oriented work. He further claimed that he had no personal animosity towards the victims and described his actions as the result of youthful rage.

The Odisha government, however, informed the Court that the matter remained under consideration by the competent committee. Notably, Singh's case has reportedly been examined by five Sentence Review Committees in the past, all of which rejected his request for remission, with the last rejection occurring in February 2024.

What is Dara Singh is convicted for

Dara Singh was convicted for leading the mob that burned alive Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his sons, Philip (10) and Timothy (6), inside their station wagon at Manoharpur village in Odisha's Keonjhar district on January 21, 1999. While the trial court awarded him the death penalty, the Orissa High Court commuted the sentence to life imprisonment in 2005, holding that the case did not fall within the "rarest of rare" category. The Supreme Court upheld the life sentence in 2011.

Case Title: Rabindra Kumar Pal@ Dara Singh v. State of Odisha and Anr.

Bench: Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Vijay Bishnoi

Order Date: August 19, 2026

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