Dara Singh, Convict In Graham Staines Murder Case, Moves Supreme Court Seeking Remission Of Life Sentence

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (July 9) issued notice to the State of Odisha on a petition filed by Dara Singh seeking remission of the life sentence awarded to him for the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons in 1999.

A bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti issued notice on the writ petition filed by Singh, who said that he has served more than 24 years in imprisonment.

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 Advocate 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 pre-mature release from prison, so as 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, Orissa, when a mob led by Dara Singh set fire on Graham Staines's vehicle in which he and his two sons, Philip (aged 10) and Timothy (aged 6), were sleeping.

RABINDRA KUMAR PAL @ DARA SINGH Versus STATE OF ODISHA | Diary No. 11407-2024

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