Supreme Court modifies Graham Staines murder verdict
By IANSTuesday, January 25, 2011
NEW DELHI - Supreme Court Tuesday modified a portion of its judgment in the Graham Staines murder case as, many pointed out, by implication it justified the killings citing the Australian missionary’s religious activities.
The apex court bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice B.S. Chauhan, in a suo motu order modifying the judgment, said it was deleting the portion which read that the guilty, Dara Singh, and his accomplice wanted to teach Staines a lesson for his conversion activities.
The bench said the use of words “by use of force” is replaced with “by any means”.
The court Jan 21 said it was not interfering with the Orissa High Court judgment which had commuted Dara Singh’s death sentence to life imprisonment because the accused in the case have already been 12 years in jail and there is no ground for an enhancement.
