Supreme Court directs Odisha to decide on Dara Singh's release plea

The Supreme Court of India has directed the Odisha State Sentence Review Board to reach a decision regarding the premature release plea of Dara Singh, a convict in the 1999 Graham Staines murder case. A bench comprising Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi warned that the court would intervene and make a decision itself if the Board fails to act by September 2.

Dara Singh, a member of the Bajrang Dal, is serving a life sentence for the January 1999 killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, Philip and Timothy. The victims were burnt alive inside a vehicle in Odisha following accusations of illegal religious conversion. Singh was among 14 individuals convicted in 2003; his death sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment by the Orissa High Court in 2005, a ruling upheld by the Supreme Court in 2011.

In his petition for remission, Singh cited his age of over 60 and his 24-plus years of incarceration. The Odisha government noted that reports regarding his antecedents are being sought from Uttar Pradesh. The Supreme Court expressed dissatisfaction with the ongoing delays in the review process, stating, “We cannot tolerate this; no decision.”