A cabinet meeting on Tuesday took the decision to this effect two days after the prime minister and Attorney General Mukti Pradhan made a request to the head of the state to convince the latter to pardon the Maoist lawmaker.[break]
The president, as per the Article 115 of the interim constitution, may grant pardons and reprieves to any individual convicted by a court on the recommendation of the cabinet. But the constitution is silent on whether the president can grant amnesty to a person who has been convicted of grave human rights violation.
Lawyers, however, termed the government decision a misuse of authority.
Former Attorney General Yuvraj Sangraula said the government decision is against the principle that all citizens are equal before the law. “Around 7,000 people are serving jail terms based on the Supreme Court´s verdict similar to that announced in the case of Dhungel. Will the president pardon them all? If not, are all citizens not equal before the law?” argued Sangraula.
He said the murder was a crime committed by a politician. “Politicians should be responsible and accountable to the rule of law more than an ordinary citizen,” he said.
Similarly, lawyer Madhav Basnet said this is an authority meant to be exercised only as an exception in a very rare case. “But the way the government has decided to make a recommendation to the president in this particular case is completely a misuse of authority.”
Lawyer Bhimarjun Acharya said the government decision is against the rule of law.
He also termed it an example of gross violation of law that will promote impunity in the country.
“Dhungel must undergo trial. Providing amnesty to a murder convict without making him serve jail term for even a single day is simply against the law,” Acharya told Republica.
The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Dhungel in 2010 for the murder of one Ujjan Shrestha of Okhaldhunga. Shrestha was shot dead by the Maoists at Tarkerabari-7, Okhaldhunga on June 24, 1998, allegedly for spying on the Maoists.
Dhungel, who won the Constituent Assembly (CA) election from Okhaldhunga-2 in 2008, is regularly attending parliament meetings till now.
The UCPN (Maoist) has been trying to secure amnesty for Dhungel ever since the apex court found him guilty despite opposition from the human rights community.
Karki, Maskey, Jha named envoys
The cabinet meeting on Tuesday also decided to propose Maoist politburo member Ram Karki as the ambassador to India, Dr Mahesh Maskey to China and Dhananjaya Jha to UAE.
Karki, a close aide to the PM, was nominated for the post by the government led by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. He was also nominated by the Maoists as ambassador to India but was turned down by New Delhi. Maskey is a doctor by profession and a leftist intellectual.
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