The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the Odisha government over its failure to decide on the remission plea of Ravindra Pal, alias Dara Singh, who is undergoing a life sentence for the 1999 murders of Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two minor sons.
“You take a decision whatever you want to. Otherwise we will take our own. If you don’t take a decision, we will,” stated a bench comprising Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi to the state’s legal counsel.
“We can’t tolerate this avoiding taking a decision,” the bench observed.
The court pointed out that proceedings had been repeatedly deferred to allow authorities sufficient time to process the plea filed by Singh, who has remained behind bars for over 26 years.
The bench observed that during the previous hearing on July 14, the state was instructed to expedite the matter while the State Sentence Review Board was evaluating the petition.
The judges noted that the state’s counsel had now submitted a letter from the Directorate of Prisons and Correctional Services addressed to the advocate, indicating that a status report from the Keonjhar district jail remained pending.
“We are not informed about the decision of the Sentence Review Board,” the top court said.
Scheduling the next hearing for September 2, the bench directed the board to finalize its determination and present its decision before the court.
“We are not concerned about how you are communicating, to what authority you are communicating. You just take a decision,” the bench observed.
The bench said, “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 63-year-old convict Singh moved the apex court in 2024 seeking early release, citing that he had already completed over 24 years in imprisonment and “repented” for his action taken in a fit of “youthful rage”.
In his petition, Singh stated that he adheres to karmic philosophy and sought an opportunity to reform himself in society to redeem his past wrongdoing.
During the July hearing, the top court had allowed the Odisha government a one-month timeline to render its decision regarding Singh’s premature release request.
In the late-night hours of January 22-23, 1999, a mob led by Singh ambushed Staines and his sons – 11-year-old Philip and 8-year-old Timothy – as they slept inside their vehicle in Keonjhar district’s Manoharpur village, setting the car ablaze.
Singh, the main accused in the triple murder, was convicted and sentenced to death by a CBI court in 2003.
The Orissa High Court subsequently commuted his sentence to life imprisonment in 2005, a verdict that was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2011.
Appealing for judicial mercy, Singh pledged to contribute positively to society through “service-oriented actions.”
He additionally requested a directive instructing the state administration to evaluate his case under its 2022 policy guidelines governing premature release for life convicts across the three convictions registered against him.
Singh, presently detained at Keonjhar district jail, argued that he had satisfied the threshold requirement of 14 years’ imprisonment specified under the April 19, 2022 policy, having completed over 24 years in confinement without remission benefits.
He maintained that state authorities were under a mandatory obligation to consider his petition under the “Guideline for Premature Release 2022” formulated by the Odisha government.
The failure of the authorities to act in a timely manner had compromised his fundamental right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution, he asserted.
Co-accused Mahendra Hembram continues to serve a life sentence for his involvement, while 11 other individuals charged in the case were acquitted by the high court for lack of evidence.
Staines and his wife Gladys worked alongside the Mayurbhanj Evangelical Missionary organisation, running initiatives to support leprosy patients.
Gladys Staines, who was conferred the Padma Shri honor in 2005, publicly forgave those responsible for the deaths of her husband and sons, stating she harbored no hatred toward them.
