The Home Ministry has sought opinion of the Office of Attorney General (OAG) on whether the punishment of Nagarik Unmukti Party lawmaker Arun Kumar Chaudhary can be waived or not.
The Home Ministry sent a letter Thursday asking two questions about Chaudhary's case, according to an OAG source. "The first seeks information about whether the case has been concluded or not. And the next seeks opinion on whether the jail term and claims can be waived or not," the source added.
There is legal provision allowing the government to waive the remaining jail term of those who have served half of the sentence on the occasion of Constitution Day, Republic Day, or Democracy Day. The OAG source claimed that the government sought OAG's opinion to waive the remaining term of Chaudhary on the occasion of Democracy Day that falls on February 19 this year.
"The OAG has already answered the first question saying the six-month sentence and Rs 819,423 in claims constitute the final court verdict. But it has yet to send opinion about whether the sentence can be waived or not," the source revealed.
Chaudhary was arrested on February 2 after being found to be on the police’s wanted list after another accused appeared in court a week before that.
Chaudhary was elected to the House of Representatives from Kailali-2 in the November 20, 2022 elections. He had contested two elections before that and lost on both occasions.
He had lost to Mahadev Bajgain of CPN-UML in the 2017 local elections. He had also run for the provincial assembly the same year but suffered defeat again.
Lawmaker Chaudhary and two others were found guilty in an arson case that dates back to August 19, 2008.
On April 22, 2013, a bench of the then district judge Bishnu Subedi at Kailali District Court had sentenced Arun Chaudhary, Parshuram Chaudhary and Bir Bahadur Chaudhary to six months in prison. The court had also ordered them to pay Rs 819,423.
