"We have appealed to the prime minister for clemency on the punishment awarded to our lawmaker and forward a copy of the decision to the president so that Dhungel may be granted a reprieve," Maoist Spokesperson Dina Nath Sharma said, adding, "The prime minister has assured us that he is positive about the issue." [break]
As per the interim constitution, the president can grant a pardon or reduce the sentence of a convicted person upon the request of the cabinet.
A division bench of SC justices Tapa Bahadur Magar and Rajendra Prasad Koirala, some three months ago, had convicted Dhungel of the murder of one Uddhav Shrestha in 1998.
Responding to an appeal of the government, the apex court on January 3 had slapped 20-year jail sentence on Dhungel along with confiscation of all his property. The government had moved the apex court after the Rajbiraj Appellate Court acquitted Dhungel of the murder charge stating that the appellate court verdict was against existing laws.
The Okhaldhunga District Court had also awarded life sentence to Dhungel.
Though the verdict was handed down on January, the full text of the verdict was distributed to journalists only two weeks ago.
"We asked the PM not to implement SC verdict against our lawmaker Dhungel as the verdict contradicts the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA),” Sharma said, adding, "There are so many murder cases against our leaders in various courts. The CPA says no actions would be taken against any leaders based on such cases filed during the insurgency period. We therefore appealed to the PM for commutation of the sentence awarded to Dhungel.”
Prime Minister´s Political Advisor Raghuji Panta, however said that he has no idea about Maoists´ appeal for clemency. "I am unaware of the development," he told myrepublica.com.
SC Spokesperson Hemanta Rawal said though the Supreme Court (SC) has already asked the Okhaldhunga District Court to implement its verdict at the earliest, Dhungel, elected from Okhaldhunga constituency no 2 in the Constituent Assembly election, is still moving freely.
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