There is increasing concern over the decision to grant Mahendralal Patel, also known as Mahendra Motibhai Patel, a Presidential pardon despite his failure to serve his sentence.
Patel was charged with Abuse of Office in 2006, found guilty in absentia on November 20, 2014, and sentenced to one year in prison. However, he did not serve his time as the court allowed him to travel abroad for medical reasons, from which he did not return.
Attempts to reach Attorney-General Graham Leung, who chairs the Mercy Commission, for clarification on Patel’s conditional pardon have gone unanswered since Sunday. A follow-up inquiry yielded no response by the print deadline.
Fiji Corrections Service (FCS) Commissioner Jalesi Nakarawa confirmed that Patel’s name was not included in the list provided to the Mercy Commission. The FCS’s release list issued last Thursday did not feature Patel; however, shortly after, the Fiji Government’s Facebook page announced a list of pardoned individuals that included him.
Nakarawa stated, “FCS facilitates applications submitted by convicted prisoners. They submit their petitions, and we process them and then submit them to the Mercy Commission.” He expressed confusion about Patel’s case since he was not in custody and thus not on the FCS’s list.
According to a statement from the Mercy Commission, Patel initially submitted a petition on April 4, 2023, which was dismissed. On June 13, a reconsideration letter was received from his lawyers. The Commission reviewed his second petition, taking into account his age, the duration of his absence from Fiji, and his significant contributions to the country. Ultimately, they recommended a conditional pardon, which was approved by the President on September 18, 2024, adhering to the provisions of the Constitution as confirmed by the Commission.