There is growing concern regarding the reasons behind the Presidential pardon granted to Mahendralal Patel, also known as Mahendra Motibhai Patel, despite him not serving his conviction.
Mr. 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 did not serve his sentence because the court allowed him to travel abroad for medical treatment, from which he did not return.
This publication has attempted to reach out to Attorney-General Graham Leung, who also chairs the Mercy Commission, since Sunday for details about the conditional pardon granted to Mr. Patel, but no response has been forthcoming. A follow-up inquiry was made yesterday, but as of the time of this report, there has been no reply.
Jalesi Nakarawa, the Commissioner of the Fiji Corrections Service (FCS), confirmed that Mr. Patel’s name was not included in the FCS list submitted to the Mercy Commission. The list released by FCS last Thursday afternoon also did not contain Mr. Patel’s name. However, shortly afterward, the Fiji Government’s Facebook page announced the names of those pardoned, including Mr. Patel.
Mr. Nakarawa stated, “FCS facilitates applications submitted by convicted prisoners. They submit their petitions, and we process them and then forward them to the Mercy Commission.” He added, “For Patel, we didn’t know anything about it. His name was not on our list because he was not in our custody… I have no idea how his petition went to the Mercy Commission; I only handle cases of convicted prisoners under our care.”
According to a statement from the Mercy Commission last Thursday, Mr. Patel submitted a petition for pardon on April 4, 2023, which was initially dismissed. However, on June 13, the Commission received a request from his lawyers for reconsideration of his petition.
The Commission deliberated on the second petition, taking into account Mr. Patel’s age, the duration of his absence from Fiji, and his significant contributions to the nation. Consequently, the Commission recommended a conditional pardon for Mr. Patel, which was contingent upon him not committing any further offenses. This recommendation was acted upon by the President on September 18, 2024.
The Commission confirmed that its decisions were made in accordance with the Constitution.