According to an official at the Prime Minister´s Office, the office dispatched a letter with the November-8 cabinet decision recommending amnesty for the Maoist lawmaker after the regular office hour on Thursday. [break]
“We have received the letter,” said Rajendra Dahal, the president´s press advisor.
When asked what the president would do with the government´s recommendation, Dahal said the president would take necessary steps after reading the letter.
According to a source at the Prime Minister´s Office, the government has argued that the case involving Dhungel is “purely a political case” and has urged the head of the state to grant amnesty to Dhungel as per the Article 115 of the Interim Constitution that gives the president the power to pardon a sentence pronounced by court.
The Okhaldhunga District Court had slapped life sentence with property attachment to Dhungel after he was found guilty of the murder of Shrestha in 2004. Later, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court´s decision in 2010.
The Prime Minister´s Office formally sent the cabinet decision to the president a couple hours after Shrestha´s sister Sabitri Shrestha filed a writ petition seeking nullification of the government decision. She has also sought an interim order to block enforcement of the recommendation until the case is finalized in the court.
In the petition, President Yadav, Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, among others, have been made defendants. The Supreme Court said it is holding an initial hearing on the petition on Friday.
Meanwhile, student organizations affiliated to the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML staged separate protest programs in Kathmandu on Thursday morning demanding withdrawal of the government decision.
They also obstructed vehicular movement in Kathmandu in the morning.
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