KATHMANDU: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari has granted amnesty to 381 convicts doing time in prisons across the country to mark National Democracy Day.
A press statement issued by the Office of the President stated that the amnesty would be effective beginning tomorrow. The eligible jailbirds getting amnesty include Bishnu Kumar Limbu in accordance with the Senior Citizens Act, 2006; the Criminal Code Act, 2017, the Criminal Offences (Punishment Determination and Implementation) Act, 2017; the Children’s Act, 2018; the National Criminal Procedure (Code) Act, 2017 and the Supreme Court mandamus order of 3 August 2020, on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers.
The convicts were also relieved of fines and the principal amount to be paid to the state for the crimes they committed, in addition to the jail sentence handed down to them by various courts.
Nepal has a tradition of granting amnesty to eligible prisoners to mark major festivals like Dashain, Tihar, Republic Day, National Democracy Day, and Constitution Day.