The Supreme Court (SC) has revoked the government’s decision to grant presidential clemency to Yograj Dhakal (Regal) and ordered his immediate arrest.
The full bench including Acting Chief Justice (CJ) Ishwore Prasad Khatiwada, and Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Kumar Chudal issuing a mandamus has also ordered to seek consent of the victims while granting clemency to the perpetrators.
“The commutation of remaining sentence of Yograj Dhakal by President ram Chandra Paudel on the Constitution Day on recommendation of the government will be revoked as it seems to be against the Constitution and law,” Acting CJ Khatiwada has said reading the verdict from the bench.
The bench has also instructed the defendants to take clemency decision only after revealing objective grounds and appropriate reasons.
Regal Dhakal was released from Tulsipur Prison on the occasion of Constitution Day on September 20 after President Ram Chandra Paudel granted him clemency on the government’s recommendation.
Dhakal’s gang had killed Chetan Manandhar in Nepalgunj on July 13, 2015. A bench of the then Banke District Court Judge Bishnu Subedi in April 2019 had slapped a life term on Dhakal to go with confiscation of all his properties. It had also slapped jail terms ranging from three years to 10 years on 12 others involved in Dhakal’s killing.
Chetan’s wife Bharati Manandhar had moved the SC after Dhakal’s release.
Hearing the petition filed by Bharati, a bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma had earlier ordered the defendants to furnish a written response by 5 PM, October 11. The bench had also ordered that the hearing on the petition be given top priority and set the final hearing on the petition by a full bench for October 12 but it could not be heard that day.
The bench had also ruled that Attorney General Din Mani Pokharel should come to defend the government's decision during the final hearing.
