There is increasing doubt regarding the reasons behind the Presidential pardon granted to Mahendralal Patel, also known as Mahendra Motibhai Patel, despite him not serving his sentence.
Patel was charged with Abuse of Office in 2006 and was convicted in absentia on November 20, 2014, receiving a 12-month prison sentence. However, he never served his sentence as the court allowed him to leave the country for medical treatment, and he did not return afterwards.
Attempts to reach Attorney-General and Mercy Commission chair Graham Leung for clarification on the pardon granted to Patel have been unsuccessful since Sunday. A follow-up inquiry was made yesterday, but there was still no response by the time this article was published.
Fiji Corrections Service (FCS) Commissioner Jalesi Nakarawa confirmed that Patel’s name did not appear on the list of inmates submitted to the Mercy Commission. The list released by FCS last Thursday afternoon did not include him, yet shortly after, the government’s Facebook page listed Patel among those pardoned.
Nakarawa explained that FCS processes applications from incarcerated individuals, but Patel was not in their custody, leaving them unaware of any petition concerning him.
According to the Mercy Commission, Patel submitted a petition on April 4, 2023, which was initially dismissed. Following a letter from his lawyers for reconsideration on June 13, the Commission reviewed the second petition considering Patel’s age, his time away from Fiji, and his contributions to the nation. Consequently, they recommended a conditional pardon, which the President granted based on the Commission’s advice on September 18, 2024. The Commission affirmed that its decision complied with the Constitution.