May30, Kathmandu
Just 10 days after the Supreme Court’s verdict to give life sentence to the Tikapur massacre mastermind and former lawmaker Resham Chaudhary, President Ramchandra Paudel, on the government’s recommendation, pardoned his remaining jail term.
On Sunday, a Cabinet meeting had requested President Ramchandra Paudel to pardon the remaining jail terms of 501 convicts including Chaudhary on the occasion of Republic Day, which falls on Monday. The government made the recommendation as per Article 276 of the Constitution of Nepal. The President may, in accordance with law, grant pardons, suspend, commute or remit any sentence passed by any Court, judicial or quasi-judicial institution or administrative authority or institution, the article says.
The President’s Office in a statement on Sunday evening said 19 persons including Chaudhary who were serving jail terms after being convicted by various courts were granted presidential pardon. In addition, the President also pardoned 482 people serving jail terms, according to another statement from Sheetal Niwas.
The 19 were pardoned based on the government’s recommendation while the 482 for having completed 50 percent of their jail terms and demonstrating good behaviour.
Chaudhary had, on May 25, appealed to the President’s Office, through the Ministry of Home Affairs, to commute his jail term. The office returned the application to the ministry for action. Accordingly, the government on Sunday made the recommendation.
Nepal’s presidents, on the government’s recommendation, have been pardoning jailed convicts on Republic Day, Constitution Day and during the Dashain festival. The Supreme Court on May 17 upheld the decisions of lower courts to convict Chaudhary for masterminding the 2015 Tikapur carnage that saw seven police personnel and a toddler dead.
The government’s action has drawn mixed reactions from the civil society and intelligentsia. While some claim pardoning a man convicted of eight murders even before he completes one fourth of the jail term is a mockery of the judicial system, others argue that the deaths were associated with a political movement and cannot be viewed through a criminal lens.
“The government has once again proved that it works for perpetrators and is least bothered about the pain of the victims. This is disrespect for the judiciary as well,” Charan Prasai, a human rights activist, told the Post. “This pardon is condemnable and objectionable.”
Right defenders say it is surprising that the government didn’t even wait for the full text of the court verdict before pressing ahead with the pardon.