The government has proposed before President Bidya Devi Bhandari to commute the remaining jail term of Nagarik Unmukti Party’s lawmaker Arun Chaudhary.

On the recommendation of the Home Ministry, a meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Thursday forwarded the proposal to the Office of the President.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is also holding the home portfolio, took an initiation for the presidential pardon for the lawmaker doing time for arson.

Earlier to that, the Home Ministry had sought an opinion from the Office of the Attorney General on the nature of the crime committed by Chaudhary.

Sanjeev Raj Regmi, spokesperson for the Office of Attorney General, said the Ministry of Home Affairs had asked about the status of the case against Chaudhary.

The office replied that he was convicted by Kailali District Court for arson and is currently serving a jail term, said Regmi.

He added that there is no legal obstacle to commuting the remaining sentence of Chaudhary and the office responded accordingly.

At a time when Nagarik Unmukti Party has set the release of its leader Resham Chaudhary as a precondition for joining the government, police on February 2 had arrested its lawmaker Chaudhary in connection with a 12-year-old case of arson, for which he was convicted by the court.

Arun, who was elected to the lower house from Kailali-2 in the November elections, was arrested from Baijanathpur Rural Municipality in Banke district.

The Kailali district court in April 2013 had convicted Arun for torching a tractor belonging to a private individual in August 2009. The court had imposed six months of jail along with a fine of Rs900,000 on him.

The party supported the formation of  the incumbent Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government on the condition that it would release Resham and other party members who are facing various cases.

The Nagarik Unmukti Party was among the seven parties that on December 25 last year extended support to the government.