RESPONSE OF THE CHURCH OF SOUTH INDIA ON SUPREME COURT’S VERDICT ON DARA SINGH RELEASED ON JANUARY 21, 2011

On Friday, January 21, 2011, the Supreme Court of India upheld the life imprisonment for Dara Singh and Mahendra Hembram, both accused in the killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons in Orissa's Koenjhar district in January 1999. The Church of South India, which believes that Jesus, the prime mover of mission, has commissioned the Church to carry on the mission of God to be the agents of transformation and channel of Grace and Peace (Reference: “THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH OF SOUTH INDIA”, Chapter III “The Mission of The Church”, Paragraph 3) joins with the family of Mrs. Gladys Staines and the Christian Community in India, in welcoming the verdict upholding the Orissa High Court verdict in 2005, commuting the death sentence imposed by a sessions court, on Dhara Singh, to life imprisonment. We believe, all of us should affirm the value and integrity of any life at any stage and that every person should be given opportunities to realize his/her mistakes and to repent.

Moreover, the Church of South India welcomes the ‘modification’ made by the apex court of India on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, on its earlier verdict pronounced on January 21, 2011. Instead of its earlier view that the crime was driven by a passion to teach Staines a lesson for converting poor tribals to his religion, the Bench has said that a lapse of 12 years since the incident was the reason for it agreeing with the Orissa High Court decision to award Singh a life sentence. The Church of South India believes, as the Body of Christ, in her life and work, the Church should endeavour to bear witness to the Gospel of love. Mission is not aggressive propaganda but a way of life. True mission is carried out in a spirit of openness to and respect for other faiths, avoiding any attitude of triumphalism. (Reference: “THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH OF SOUTH INDIA”, Chapter III “The Mission of The Church”, Paragraph 7). We believe that the Supreme Court of India, through the modification made on the earlier verdict, has affirmed that, it is this dimension of the ministry and mission of the Church that was evident in the mission carried out by the Australian Missionary Graham Stuart Staines, who was working among those infected with ‘Hansen’s Disease’ in Orissa, while sharing the love of Jesus Christ.

Further, the Church of South India continues to pray for the families of Mrs. Gladys Staines, Mrs. Esther Staines and Mr. Dhara Singh, that God would continue to bless them in order that they all would toil toward the continuance of love, justice and peace.