Graham Staines murder: SC defers hearing on Dara Singh’s remission plea to May 13

BHUBANESWAR: Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred hearing the remission plea of Dara Singh, who is serving a life term for the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines, to May 13 after the Odisha govt apprised the court that the state sentence review board will examine his case and take a decision soon.Advocate general Pitambar Acharya, who appeared on behalf of the state, said the court was apprised that the govt has sought reports from the state prison authorities as well as the administration and police authorities of Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, Singh's native place. "The board will take an appropriate decision after that," Acharya said. The bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Manmohan were hearing the plea.

Singh has been in jail for more than 26 years after he was arrested on Jan 31, 2000. Mahendra Hembram, a co-convict in the case, walked out of jail in April last year. Earlier, on Feb 20, the state govt had sought two weeks' time to file an affidavit placing on record the extant remission policy as also the policy prevailing at the time of commission of the offence and when the order of conviction was passed. The SC had said Odisha shall be at liberty to take a decision in terms of the state policy. The Supreme Court on Jan 21, 2011, had upheld the life imprisonment of Singh and Hembram for burning alive Staines and his two minor sons in 1999. The apex court had dismissed appeals filed by the convicts challenging their life sentence as well as the CBI's appeals seeking enhancement of punishment.