There is increasing skepticism regarding the decision to grant a Presidential pardon to Mahendralal Patel, also known as Mahendra Motibhai Patel, despite him not having served his sentence.
Mr. Patel was convicted of Abuse of Office in absentia on November 20, 2014, and sentenced to 12 months in prison. However, he did not serve his sentence after the court allowed him to travel abroad for medical treatment, from which he failed to return.
Efforts to reach the Attorney-General Graham Leung, who chairs the Mercy Commission, for clarification on the pardon have been unsuccessful since Sunday. A follow-up was attempted yesterday, but no response was received by the time this article was prepared.
Jalesi Nakarawa, Commissioner of the Fiji Corrections Service (FCS), confirmed that Mr. Patel’s name was not part of the list submitted to the Mercy Commission. The FCS release list issued last Thursday did not mention Mr. Patel, yet shortly thereafter, the Fiji Government’s Facebook page included his name among those pardoned.
Nakarawa explained, “FCS facilitates applications submitted by convicted prisoners. They submit their petitions, and we process them, then submit them to the Mercy Commission.” He indicated that Mr. Patel’s case was not known to them, as he was not in their custody.
A statement from the Mercy Commission revealed that Mr. Patel had submitted a petition on April 4, 2023, which was initially dismissed. However, following a reconsideration request from his lawyers on June 13, the Commission debated his second petition, taking into account his age, the duration of his absence from Fiji, and his significant contributions to the country.
The Commission ultimately recommended a conditional pardon for Mr. Patel, which was granted by the President on September 18, 2024, based on the Commission’s recommendations made in accordance with Section 119(5) of the Constitution.