KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 6

The National Human Rights Commission has written to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal objecting to the presidential pardon granted to murder convict Yograj Dhakal Rigal also known as Rigal Dhakal. The letter was signed by NHRC Chair Tap Bahadur Magar to signify the seriousness the rights body attaches to the issue.

NHRC issued a press release saying that its serious attention was drawn to media reports that the government has been granting pardon to convicts facing life terms with confiscation of property and such pardon was mainly aimed at giving benefits to people affiliated to political parties.

The government's tendency to grant pardons to convicts having access to political parties won't create a just environment as it deprives crime victims of their fundamental rights, leading to impunity and frustration among the general public thereby eroding people's faith in the state and governance system. The rights body said that despite Section 159 (4) (d) of the Muluki Criminal Procedure Code, 2017 prohibiting people convicted of murdering somebody after taking under control, Dhakal convicted for murdering Chetan Manandhar of Nepalgunj, was granted pardon on Constitution Day.

The NHRC cited the ruling of Banke District Court delivered on 24 April 2018 wherein the court said, 'Rigal Dhakal encircled Chetan Manandhar depriv-ing him any opportunity to escape before he murdered him with a chopper,' the district court stated in its verdict. The rights body also cited the Nepalgunj bench of High Court Tulsipur which stated in its endorsement verdict, 'Evidence proves that Rigal Dhakal group which wanted to finish off rival groups in order to maintain its dominance hatched a plot on 5 July 2015 to commit the crime and Rigal Dhakal was the one who attacked (Chetan Manandhar) with a chopper, Nepalgunj bench of Tulsipur High Court observed in its ruling.

The high court also stated that the crime committed by Rigal Dhakal and other defendants ridiculed the rule of law and the court concluded the crime was committed in a brutal manner with the premeditated plan.

The NHRC said that Rigal Dhakal was granted pardon in violation of the pardon rules set out in Section 159 (4) (d) of Muluki Criminal Procedure Code.

The rights body said that invoking rule 29 (1) of Prison Regulations 1963 (2020 BS) that existed before the Muluki Criminal Procedure Code was not appropriate.

The rights body said that granting pardon to Rigal Dhakal had violated Article 21 of the constitution, section 4, 5 and 10 of Crime Victim Protection Act, 2018. 'Therefore, the NHRC urges the prime minister to ensure the victim's right to justice and to prevent such things that give rise to impunity, and to provide the list of convicts who were granted amnesty by the president on Constitution Day, the NHRC said in the letter to the PM.

A version of this article appears in the print on October 7, 2023, of The Himalayan Times