NEW DELHI: Coming down heavily on the Odisha government and the authorities concerned for sitting on the premature release/remission plea of Rabindra Kumar Pal, alias Dara Singh, who is serving a life sentence for the 1999 murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, the Supreme Court on Tuesday remarked that the state cannot keep the plea lingering indefinitely.
A two-judge Bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi said, “You cannot keep it lingering like this. You have to take a decision, either yes or no,” and directed the state to take a decision before the next hearing on September 17.
Granting one last opportunity to the Odisha Sentence Review Board to decide on Singh’s premature release, the court expressed strong displeasure over the board’s inaction despite multiple orders directing the government and authorities to take a decision on the matter.
“Whatever decision you want to take, take it. Otherwise we will take our own,” the bench told the state.
The apex court also observed that the state’s delay in deciding the remission plea was unacceptable. The Odisha government had submitted that the Directorate of Prisons was awaiting a report from Keonjhar district jail, where Singh is currently lodged, as well as antecedent verification from Uttar Pradesh.
The court, however, said the remission plea had to be decided by the Sentence Review Board and not the jail authorities, observing that the delay affected the rights of a prisoner.
At an earlier hearing on August 19, the court had observed, “If you (Odisha govt) don't decide, we will,” while criticising the Odisha Sentence Review Board for failing to take a decision on Singh’s premature release.
“You take a decision whatever you want to. Otherwise we will take our own. If you don't take a decision, we will,” the bench had said.
Singh is seeking remission of his sentence and has stated that he has spent more than 25 years in prison. Under the state’s remission policy, remission can be considered for convicts whose death sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment after completion of 25 years of incarceration.
Last year, the Supreme Court had directed the Odisha government to consider and decide Singh’s remission plea within six weeks. However, no decision was taken, prompting the apex court to come down heavily on the state.
In his application before the Supreme Court, Singh sought the benefit of a more liberal remission policy to secure his premature release after spending more than 24 years and 11 months in prison.
Singh said he was seeking mercy from the top court and assured it that he would “give back to the society” through “service-oriented actions”. He sought a direction to the Odisha government to release him from prison in accordance with the guidelines for the premature release of life convicts issued in 2022 in the three cases in which he was convicted.
Through his lawyer, Vishnu Jain, Singh also sought to implead the CBI as a party/respondent in the case, stating that it was the investigating agency in the murder case.
The Bajrang Dal activist, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, had moved the Supreme Court in July last year seeking remission.
He cited the release of Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict A G Perarivalan, arguing that he should also be granted similar relief.
Jain, appearing for Singh, sought his release from prison, citing the Supreme Court judgment that led to Perarivalan’s release in 2022. “I am seeking a direction to be released from jail on this ground,” Jain said.
Citing the remission case of Perarivalan, one of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, who was released by the apex court in 2022, Singh sought similar relief.
In his plea, Singh invoked the theory of reformative justice, quoting eminent jurist and former Supreme Court judge Justice V R Krishna Iyer: “Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future.”
Singh said he regretted his offences, stating that he was then “overwhelmed by distress at the barbaric deeds inflicted upon India by the Mughals and the British”.
He alleged that the state authorities had failed to act on several representations seeking remission and premature release, thereby jeopardising his rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Justifying his plea for remission, Singh said he had already undergone more than the qualifying period of imprisonment stipulated under the remission policy of April 19, 2022.
“I am around 61 years age. I have never been released on parole,” Singh, who originally hails from Auraiya district in Uttar Pradesh, said in his plea. He also stated that he could not perform his mother’s last rites when she died.
The petitioner, who is lodged in Keonjhar district jail, said he acknowledged and deeply regretted the transgressions committed more than two decades ago.
“In the fervor of youth, fueled by impassioned reactions to the brutal history of India, the petitioner's psyche momentarily lost restraint and it is imperative for the court to scrutinise not merely the actions but the underlying intent, noting that there was no personal animosity harboured towards any victim,” Singh said in his plea.
Singh said his actions arose from a fervent desire to protect the nation rather than personal malice. He sought a “fair evaluation of the circumstances surrounding those tumultuous times”, his plea added.
Citing various judgments involving life convicts in cases of similar circumstances and gravity, Singh said courts had granted release on grounds including good conduct in prison and the period of incarceration already undergone. He therefore sought similar relief from the Supreme Court.