Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the Odisha govt time till Aug 19 to take a final call on the remission plea of convict Dara Singh, jailed for the past 26 years for killing Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two sons, after verbally asking the govt to release him by Aug 15, his counsel and govt sources present in the court said.“The court verbally told the state govt to release my client by August 15. The state informed the court that the sentence review had already met to consider the plea and required additional time for address verification,” Singh’s counsel A P Singh told TOI.Govt sources said the State Sentence Review Board (SSRB) is favourably considering Singh’s remission plea, as he has spent more than 25 years in prison and is reported to have maintained good conduct, making him eligible for consideration under the state’s remission policy.On Jan 22, 1999, an angry mob led by Bajrang Dal activist Singh, 62, allegedly burnt Staines (58) and his two sons, Philip (10) and Timothy (6) inside their station wagon near a church at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district, sending shockwaves across the country.Singh, currently lodged in Keonjhar jail, is a native of Auraiya district in Uttar Pradesh.Mahendra Hembram, Singh’s co-convict who was released on April 16, 2025 after being granted remission on grounds of good behaviour, said Singh meets the same criteria. “I spoke to him after today’s Supreme Court hearing. He sounded optimistic and hopes to secure his release soon,” Hembram said.The state on the other hand sought a brief extension to enable the SSRB to examine updated records. A bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Vijay Bishnoi was informed by the state that the committee tasked with examining the plea had sought additional records, which were yet to be made available.Adjourning the case to Aug 19, the court observed: “In the meantime, we expect that the committee shall take its decision.”Speaking to TOI, advocate general Pitambar Acharya said the SSRB could not decide on Singh’s plea because the records submitted by jail authorities and the district administration pertained to 2025. “The board has sought updated information before taking a decision on the remission plea. This was conveyed to the apex court,” Acharya said.Under Odisha’s 2022 premature-release guidelines, convicts whose death sentences have been commuted to life imprisonment become eligible for consideration of premature release after completing 25 years in prison, subject to the recommendation of the SSRB and approval by the state govt.Singh’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by Orissa high court in 2005, a decision later upheld by the Supreme Court.In the triple murder case of Staines and his two sons, the CBI had chargesheeted 18 accused. A trial court in 2003 convicted Dara and 12 others, sentencing Singh to death and the remaining convicts to life imprisonment.However, in 2005, Orissa high court commuted Singh’s death sentence to life imprisonment, upheld the life term awarded to Hembram and acquitted all other accused. The Supreme Court, in 2011, upheld the life sentences of Singh and Hembram.
