There is increasing doubt regarding the decision to grant a Presidential pardon to Mahendralal Patel, also referred to as Mahendra Motibhai Patel, who has not completed his sentence. In 2006, Patel was charged with Abuse of Office and was convicted in absentia on November 20, 2014, receiving a 12-month prison sentence.
Patel did not serve his sentence because the court allowed him to leave the country for medical treatment, and he did not return. Attempts to reach Attorney-General Graham Leung, who chairs the Mercy Commission, for clarifications on the conditional pardon given to Patel have been unsuccessful since Sunday, and follow-up inquiries have also gone unanswered as of the latest publication.
Fiji Corrections Service (FCS) Commissioner Jalesi Nakarawa confirmed that Patel’s name was not included in the list submitted to the Mercy Commission by FCS. The release list from FCS last Thursday did not feature Patel, but shortly after, the Fiji Government’s Facebook page announced the names of those pardoned, including Patel’s.
Commissioner Nakarawa noted, “FCS facilitates applications submitted by convicted prisoners. They submit their petitions, and we process them and then submit them to the Mercy Commission. For Patel, we didn’t know anything about it. His name was not on our list because he was not in our custody, so I have no idea how his petition went to the Mercy Commission; I only handle the cases of convicted prisoners under our care.”
Last Thursday, the Mercy Commission stated that Patel had initially submitted a petition on April 4, 2023, which was dismissed. However, on June 13, the Commission received a letter from his lawyers requesting reconsideration of the petition. After deliberation, the Commission took into account Patel’s age, the duration of his absence from Fiji, and his significant contributions to the nation, ultimately recommending a conditional pardon, provided he does not reoffend. The President acted upon the Mercy Commission’s recommendation in accordance with the Constitution on September 18, 2024, confirming that the decisions were made following constitutional guidelines.