Ethics · 15 Jul 2026

Dara Singh Graham Staines case timeline

With reference to the case of Ravindra Pal alias Dara Singh, convicted for the 1999 murder of Graham Staines and his sons, arrange the following events in chronological order:

  1. Orissa High Court commutes the death sentence to life imprisonment.
  2. Supreme Court upholds the life sentence, describing the murders as intended to "teach a lesson."
  3. Odisha's premature-release guidelines set a 25-year eligibility threshold for remission review.
  4. Supreme Court directs the Odisha government to decide on Dara Singh's remission plea within a month.

Select the correct order:

A1-2-3-4
B2-1-3-4
C1-3-2-4
D3-1-2-4
This question is based on: Twenty-Six Years, Two Children, One Remission Form
Take this in full test mode → Instructions for 15 Jul 2026
About this question

Why in news

The Supreme Court directed Odisha to decide on Dara Singh's remission plea by August 19, 2026, after the State Sentence Review Board recommended his release on grounds of "good behaviour" following 26 years in prison.

Why for UPSC

Chronology questions test whether aspirants can distinguish the appellate sequence (High Court to Supreme Court) from later administrative policy developments (state remission guidelines) - a structure UPSC often uses in significant case-based questions.

Prelims summary

Dara Singh's death sentence was commuted to life by the Orissa HC (2005), upheld by the SC (2011), followed by Odisha's 2022 remission guidelines (25-year threshold) and a 2026 SC direction to decide his remission plea within a month.

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