The Odisha government has officially communicated to the Supreme Court its decision to reject the remission plea submitted by Rabindra Kumar Pal, also known as Dara Singh. Singh is currently serving a life sentence for his involvement in the 1999 murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons. This legal matter, Rabindra Kumar Pal @ Dara Singh v. State of Odisha, was addressed by a Bench comprising Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi.
During the proceedings, which centered on Singh’s challenge against the Odisha government’s delay in processing his remission request, it was revealed that the decision to deny the plea had been made on August 31. The Court had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s procrastination in the case. The state’s counsel informed the Court about the rejection, allowing Singh the opportunity to amend his plea and formally contest this decision.
Justice Misra and Justice Bishnoi advised Singh’s legal counsel to acquire a copy of the rejection order and amend the plea as necessary. “You take a copy of the order. Take whatever grounds you want to challenge it. Amend your plea and argue,” the Bench instructed. The case is scheduled for another hearing in three weeks.
The order from the Court today documented, “The State has rejected the plea of remission vide order dated 31-08-2026. Copy of the order has been supplied to learned counsel representing the petitioner. The counsel for the petitioner prays for two weeks’ time to file an appropriate amendment application.”
Dara Singh was initially sentenced to death in 2003 for orchestrating the attack that led to the deaths of Graham Staines and his sons, Philip and Timothy, in Manoharpur, Odisha. However, in 2005, the Orissa High Court commuted his sentence to life imprisonment, a decision which the Supreme Court upheld in 2011.
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In his plea before the Supreme Court, Singh, now over 60 years old, argued for remission, citing his reformative conduct and the 24 years he has already spent in incarceration without parole. Despite repeated adjournments granted by the Court to facilitate a decision from the Odisha government, there was a notable delay in the response, prompting criticism from the Bench.
On a prior occasion, specifically on September 8, the Bench had rebuked the Odisha administration for its inaction over two years. The Court warned that it might have to summon senior state officials if the Sentence Review Board did not resolve the matter promptly. The state’s recent communication about the decision taken on August 31 now sets the stage for further legal arguments, as Singh’s amended plea will be considered in three weeks.
