NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file its reply within four weeks on the remission plea of Ravindra Pal, alias Dara Singh, who is serving a life sentence for the 1999 killings of Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two minor sons in Odisha’s Keonjhar district.A two-judge Bench, comprising Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice S.V.N. Bhatti, impleaded the CBI as the second respondent in the case following a request from Singh’s counsel.Singh, though his lawyer requested the apex court to implead the CBI as one of the parties/ respondents in the case, saying that it was the investigating agency in the brutal murder case.In his application, Singh sought a more liberal remission policy to enable his premature release, claiming he had spent over 24 years and 11 months in prison.During the hearing, senior law officer of the Odisha government Shibashish Mishra requested an extension of two weeks to file the State’s reply.Granting four weeks, the apex court instructed the State to submit details of the five committees that had examined Singh’s premature release. Mr. Mishra informed the court that the most recent report by these committees was submitted on February 20, 2023.
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