There is increasing doubt regarding the decision to grant Mahendralal Patel, also known as Mahendra Motibhai Patel, a Presidential pardon, especially since he has not yet 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 sentence.
However, Patel did not serve this sentence because he was allowed to leave the country for medical treatment by the court, and he did not return afterward. The media has attempted to reach out to Attorney-General Graham Leung, who also chairs the Mercy Commission, for clarification on the terms of Patel’s conditional pardon, but there has been no response.
Additionally, Fiji Corrections Service (FCS) Commissioner Jalesi Nakarawa confirmed that Patel’s name was not included in the FCS list submitted to the Mercy Commission. Last Thursday afternoon, the release list from FCS also did not mention Patel. However, shortly afterward, the Fiji Government’s Facebook page listed Patel among those pardoned.
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 over Patel’s case, noting that his name was never on their list because he was not in custody.
The Mercy Commission issued a statement indicating that Patel had initially submitted a petition on April 4, 2023, which was dismissed. Following this, on June 13, the Commission received a letter from Patel’s lawyers requesting reconsideration of his petition. After reviewing his case, the Commission took into account his age, the time he has spent away from Fiji, and his significant contributions to the country. Consequently, they recommended a conditional pardon for Patel, contingent upon his not reoffending.
On September 18, 2024, the President acted upon this recommendation from the Mercy Commission, affirming that their decisions were made in accordance with the law.