Nagarik Unmukti Party lawmaker Arun Kumar Chaudhary has been released after President Bidya Devi Bhandari waived his remaining jail term on the occasion of Democracy Day Sunday.
The Cabinet had recommended President Bhandari to release lawmaker Chaudhary and other inmates on the occasion of Democracy Day that falls today. The President's Office issuing a statement has said that 395 inmates have been released after waiver of their remaining jail term. Lawmaker Chaudhary and 14 others have been released from Kailali Jail.
Nagarik Unmukti Parti Chair Ranjita Shrestha and other party leaders and cadres welcomed Chaudhary upon his release.
The Home Ministry earlier had sought opinion of the Office of Attorney General (OAG) on whether the punishment of lawmaker Chaudhary could be waived or not.
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.
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.
