Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted three weeks to Dara Singh alias Rabindra Kumar Pal, convicted in the 1999 murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, to amend his plea for premature release after the Odisha govt informed the court that the State Sentence Review Board (SSRB) had rejected his remission application.A bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi allowed Dara’s counsel to file an amendment application. “The learned counsel for the petitioner is allowed to file an appropriate amendment application. List after three weeks,” the bench said. The matter is likely to be taken up on Oct 9.According to Dara’s counsel, A P Singh, the board cited concerns over public order after around 200-250 supporters gathered outside Keonjhar district jail on Aug 15 in anticipation of his release. The board reportedly felt the gathering could disturb social harmony. Singh, however, contended that the supporters had merely assembled to welcome Dara. “The Supreme Court has given me three weeks to amend the petition,” he said.The Odisha govt placed before the court the SSRB’s Aug 31 decision, which stated that it was “not inclined to recommend” Dara’s premature release at this stage. The apex court, on Sept 8, had warned that officials concerned could be summoned if the board failed to decide on the remission request by Sept 17.District authorities in Keonjhar had, in March this year, conditionally recommended Dara’s premature release subject to safeguards for maintaining social harmony. However, in a subsequent report submitted on Aug 28, they noted that a crowd of about 200-250 members of the Dara Sena had assembled outside the jail on Aug 15 and allegedly raised provocative slogans, prompting concerns over law and order.On Jan 22, 1999, Staines (58) and his sons, Philip (10) and Timothy (6) were burnt alive after a mob allegedly led by Dara Singh torched their station wagon while they slept near a church in Manoharpur village of Keonjhar district, triggering nationwide outrage.A CBI court in Bhubaneswar sentenced Dara to death and 12 others to life imprisonment on Sept 22, 2003. The Orissa high court later acquitted 11 co-accused, upheld the convictions of Dara and Mahendra Hembram, and commuted Dara’s death sentence to life imprisonment in 2005. Hembram was released prematurely in April 2025. Dara approached the Supreme Court in 2024 seeking a direction to the Odisha govt to consider his remission plea.
