The New Indian Express ·
1999 Staines murder: SC slams Odisha government for sitting on Dara Singh’s remission plea
NEW DELHI: Coming down heavily on the Odisha government and the authorities concerned for sitting on the premature release/remission plea of Rabindra Kumar Pal, alias Dara Singh, who is serving a life sentence for the 1999 murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, the Supreme Court on Tuesday remarked that the state cannot keep the plea lingering indefinitely.
A two-judge Bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi said, “You cannot keep it lingering like this. You have to take a decision, either yes or no,” and directed the state to take a decision before the next hearing on September 17.
Granting one last opportunity to the Odisha Sentence Review Board to decide on Singh’s premature release, the court expressed strong displeasure over the board’s inaction despite multiple orders directing the government and authorities to take a decision on the matter.
