By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Dara Singh Vs Odisha , Diary No. 11407-2024- Odisha State counsel informed a Bench comprising Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Vijay Bishnoi on August 31 order of Odisha State Sentence Board Review.
The Apex Court was informed today on Thursday dated September 27, that the Odisha State Sentence Board Review has rejected the plea for premature release of Dara Singh, also known as Rabindra Kumar Pal, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons. A Bench comprising Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Vijay Bishnoi was informed by the Odisha State counsel that an order was passed on August 31 rejecting his plea for remission.
Following this, the bench adjourned the hearing, granting liberty to the petitioner to amend the writ petition to incorporate challenge to the rejection of remission. It ordered: “The state has rejected the plea of remission with order dated 31.8.26. The learned counsel for the petitioner is allowed to file an appropriate amendment application. List after 3 weeks.”
It may be recalled that the bench has adjourned the matter on the last two occasions after it was informed that a decision was yet to be taken. In the last hearing, the bench warned that if no decision is taken on the next date of hearing, it will have no option but to summon the State Secretary for an explanation for the delay. Also Read – Litigant Mustn’t
The convict, Singh, filed the writ petition in 2024, seeking remission of his sentence on the ground that he has served more than 25 years in prison. As per the State’s remission policy, remission may be considered for convicts whose death sentences have been commuted to life imprisonment after completing 25 years of incarceration.
Dara Singh was sentenced to death by the trial court in 2003. In 2005, the Orissa High Court commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment, which was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2011. In his writ petition, Singh, represented by Advocates Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, submitted that he committed the crime in a “fit of youthful rage” and was now repentant of his acts.
Relying on the reformative theory of punishment, Singh pleaded that he be allowed premature release from prison, to go back to society as a reformed person. He placed reliance on the Supreme Court’s 2022 judgment allowing the premature release of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The crime happened on 22 January 1999, at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district, Odisha, when a mob led by Dara Singh set fire to Graham Staines’s vehicle in which he and his two sons, Philip (aged 10) and Timothy (aged 6), were sleeping.
The Odisha State Sentence Review Board’s August 31, 2026 rejection cites:Risk of communal disturbance / societal ramifications. A recent gathering of ~200–250 Dara Sena supporters outside Keonjhar jail who allegedly raised provocative slogans.Consistency with earlier rejections (2016–2023) on similar grounds.These are relevant considerations under established jurisprudence (public order and societal impact are legitimate factors). The board also noted earlier positive signals from jail/district authorities on good behaviour and the length of incarceration (over 26 years).
It may be noted here that the Court had repeatedly directed Odisha to take a definitive decision (accept or reject) instead of indefinite deferrals.On 8 September 2026 the bench (Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi) told the state: “You want to reject it, reject it. We will deal with it. You can’t keep it lingering.”
The Odisha State Sentence Review Board’s latest decision (August 31, 2026 meeting, reported mid-September 2026) rejected the premature release of Rabindra Kumar Pal alias Dara Singh at this stage. It cited “societal ramifications” and the risk of communal disturbance, based in part on a Keonjhar district report of a gathering of ~200–250 Dara Sena supporters outside the jail on August 15 who allegedly raised provocative slogans. The board noted the district report was inconclusive/lacked a clear recommendation and referenced earlier rejections (2016, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023) on similar grounds.
Dara Singh (now ~67) is serving life for the January 1999 burning alive of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons (Philip ~10 and Timothy ~6) in Manoharpur, Keonjhar. He has spent over 26 years in prison. The Supreme Court has been pressing Odisha for a clear decision on his remission plea under state guidelines (he became eligible after long incarceration and claims of good behaviour/repentance). Jail and some district authorities had earlier recommended or conditionally supported release; one co-convict (Mahendra Hembram) was released after ~25 years. In July 2026 the board had moved toward recommending release on good-behaviour grounds, but the process did not conclude in release and the August 31 decision reversed course.
Mohan Majhi (BJP, CM since 2024) previously supported public demands for Singh’s release when he was Keonjhar MLA (including joining protests outside the jail in 2022 alongside Sudarshan TV’s Suresh Chavhanke). The BJP-ruled state government therefore faces cross-pressures: a section of its ideological base views Singh as a Hindutva figure who should be freed after long imprisonment, while releasing him risks domestic and international criticism over the Staines case, potential local communal friction, and perceptions of majoritarianism.
The timing—rejection just before a September 17 Supreme Court hearing, after earlier positive signals, and with explicit reference to a recent pro-release gathering—fits a pattern of caution to avoid immediate controversy or unrest. Governments frequently use sentence-review boards this way: the formal process provides cover while political leadership manages optics and ground realities. Whether this is “just to keep away from controversy” is a reasonable inference given the CM’s past stance, the July recommendation that did not translate into release, and the sudden emphasis on the August 15 gathering.
At the same time, the board is not a pure political instrument; district reports and earlier consistent rejections on communal-harmony grounds give the decision institutional cover. It is not solely a personal CM manoeuvre, but the political context in BJP-ruled Odisha clearly shapes the risk calculus.
