Overview
- The Supreme Court on Wednesday told the Odisha State Sentence Review Board to decide the remission plea of Rabindra Kumar Pal, known as Dara Singh, by September 2 or the court will take the decision itself.
- Odisha officials told the bench they were awaiting antecedent checks from Uttar Pradesh and a report from the Kendujhar district jail, a rationale the court said did not justify further delay.
- Dara Singh is serving life sentences for the January 1999 burning deaths of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons after a 2003 conviction, a 2005 commutation from death to life, and a 2011 Supreme Court affirmation.
- In his petition Singh says he has served more than the 25 years required under Odisha remission rules, expresses remorse, and cites reformative‑justice judgments while lawyers point to the April 2025 release of a co‑accused for context.
- If the board does not act by the deadline the court’s decision could short‑circuit the usual administrative review process and shape how other long‑pending remission requests are handled.