The Supreme Court has instructed the Uttar Pradesh government to explore the possibility of granting permanent remission to Uday Bhan Singh, also known as Doctor Singh, a former Uttar Pradesh MLA who received a life sentence for his involvement in the 1999 triple murder case.

A division bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal questions UP government to take its decision within two months and apprise the court.

The bench in its order said, 

"The case of the petitioner for grant of permanent remission must be considered by the state government in accordance with the applicable policy. We, accordingly, grant time of two months to the state government to consider the case of the petitioner for grant of permanent remission. The order passed by the Competent Authority shall be placed on record within a period of two months from today," 

The petitioner in the said matter, has  undergone almost more than 21 years of substantive sentence and is above 70 years of age and and is grappling with various medical conditions.

Among the five individuals who were ultimately found guilty and convicted of the offense under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment, three of them have been granted early release through separate orders issued by the competent authority, as the petitioner has contended.

Last year, in September, the Supreme Court has granted interim bail to Singh directing him not to enter Bhadohi and Mirzapur districts during the period of interim bail.

Previously, the petitioner's son, Ashish Singh, had submitted an affidavit contradicting the Uttar Pradesh government's claim that the petitioner was involved in numerous criminal cases

An affidavit has clarified that the petitioner currently has only four pending cases, all of which involve minor offenses. It was further noted that the petitioner has already completed the maximum sentences prescribed for these four cases.

Uday Bhan Singh, who was a sitting BSP MLA at the time, was among the initial lawmakers to lose his membership following his conviction in the murder case back in 2004. Since the dismissal of his appeal in both the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court, he has been incarcerated and has not been released.

Case Title: UDAY BHAN SINGH @ DOCTOR SINGH vs. THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH and Ors.