There is increasing skepticism regarding the Presidential pardon granted to Mahendralal Patel, also known as Mahendra Motibhai Patel, who has not served his sentence. Patel faced charges of Abuse of Office in 2006 and was convicted in absentia on November 20, 2014, receiving a 12-month prison term.
He did not serve this term, having been granted leave for medical treatment overseas, and he did not return. Attempts to contact Attorney-General Graham Leung, who chairs the Mercy Commission, for clarification on the conditional pardon granted to Patel have yet to yield a response. A follow-up inquiry went unanswered as of the time of this report.
Jalesi Nakarawa, Commissioner of the Fiji Corrections Service (FCS), confirmed that Patel’s name did not appear on the FCS list submitted to the Mercy Commission. The release list issued last Thursday afternoon also excluded him. However, shortly after, the Fiji Government’s Facebook page announced the names of pardoned individuals, including Patel.
Nakarawa stated that the FCS processes petitions from convicted prisoners under their care and emphasized that he was unaware of Patel’s petition as Patel was not in custody.
According to a statement from the Mercy Commission, Patel initially submitted a petition on April 4, 2023, which was dismissed. Following this, his lawyers sent a letter requesting reconsideration on June 13, leading the Commission to deliberate on his case. They took into account his age, the duration of his absence from Fiji, and his significant contributions to the nation before recommending a conditional pardon, which was approved by the President on September 18, 2024. The Commission confirmed that its actions complied with constitutional mandates.