SC seeks Odisha govt reply on Dara remission plea

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the Odisha government’s response on a plea for premature release of a “repenting” Ravindra Pal alias Dara Singh, who is serving life sentence for the ghastly killing of Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two minor sons in Keonjhar district in 1999. A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti issued notice to the Odisha government and sought its response within six weeks.

In his plea filed through advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, Dara Singh said, “The petitioner, having spent over 24 years being incarcerated in the prison, has well understood and is repenting the consequences of his action taken in the fit of his youthful rage and at present seeks the mercy of this court so that he can give back to the society through his service-oriented actions.” He sought a direction to the State government to consider his case for premature release in accordance with the guidelines for premature release of life convicts issued in 2022 in the three cases in which he was convicted.

“The petitioner herein who happens to be about 61 years of age has already undergone more than the qualified period i.e. 14 years of sentence as stipulated in policy dated April 19, 2022 whereas the petitioner has served more than 24 years of actual imprisonment (without remission),” he submitted.