Take a call, don’t keep it lingering: Supreme Court to Odisha on Dara remission plea

Take a call, don't keep it lingering: Supreme Court to Odisha on Dara remission plea Questioning the delay, a bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi cautioned that it would summon the state's top office-holders if no decision was taken by.

Key points

• 3 min read New Delhi Sep 9, 2026 03: 27 AM IST.
• The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Odisha administration for failing to take a decision on the remission plea of Ravindra Pal alias Dara Singh.
• The Supreme Court had issued notice on the remission plea on July 8, 2024.
• "Seek instruction or else we will summon your Secretary, " Justice Misra remarked, before finally agreeing to hear the matter on September 17.
• Is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express.

Saying that the matter has been pending for over two years, the bench remarked it cannot be kept "lingering" forever and a decision would have to be taken.

Notably, the Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Odisha administration for failing to take a decision on the remission plea of Ravindra Pal alias Dara Singh. This person is serving a life sentence for the murder of Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two minor sons in 1999.

Questioning the delay, a bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi cautioned that it would summon the state's top office-holders if no decision was taken by the next date of hearing on September 17.

As the bench took up the matter on Tuesday, the state's counsel sought four more weeks, citing the ill health of the Advocate on Record, and remarked he was still awaiting instructions.

"Why are you unnecessarily adjourning the matter? Take a decision. You want to reject it, reject it. We will accord with it, " Justice Misra stated.

According to The court, if his plea was rejected, the convict would have the option to challenge it, and if accepted, the petition would become infructuous.

For context, the Supreme Court had issued notice on the remission plea on July 8, 2024. Saying that he had been in jail for 26 years, Dara Singh had asked that his plea for premature release be considered by the relevant committee of the Odisha administration.

"This matter has been adjourned time and again to enable the respondents to take a decision on the plea of remission of sentence awarded to the petitioner who is incarcerated for a period exceeding 26 years." the court had remarked on August 19.

It then further observed, "It appears that when the matter was adjourned last, the State Sentence Review Board was in the process of taking a decision on the plea of the petitioner. Based on that, the matter was adjourned. Today, the learned counsel representing the respondent has placed before us a letter of the Directorate of Prisons and Correctional Service, Odisha, addressed to the counsel representing the respondent wherein it is stated that the report from District Jail Kendujhar (Keonjhar) is yet to be received."

"We are not informed regarding the decision of the Sentence Review Board. List this matter on 02.09.2026. By which date, the Sentence Review Board shall take a decision and apprise us regarding the decision, " the court had stated. © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd.

Ananthakrishnan G. Is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 26 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for regarding two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He documented from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. At present, in his second stint with the daily newspaper, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has a number of impactful stories to his credit.

Taken together, the developments around take a call, don't keep it lingering: Supreme Court to Odisha on point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.