NEW DELHI: Now that Nepal’s Supreme Court has ordered the release of Charles Sobhraj, what might be the future road map for the French national?
“There are no more legal issues left in Nepal for him. He is a free man. Otherwise, the government would have already presented any remaining case or charge before the court,” says his exuberant lawyer Gopal Siwakoti ‘Chintan’.
It was six years after his release from India’s Tihar jail that Sobhraj resurfaced in Nepal and was arrested in 2003. The Central Jail in Sundhara, a locality in the heart of Kathmandu, where he was lodged, has three blocks: the Central Prison, Bhadra Prison and Women Prison. Sobhraj is in the Central Prison’s Golghar block in solitary confinement.
Chintan was one of the few people who interacted with Sobhraj regularly. When he was approached by the staff at Central Jail to lend legal advice to Sobhraj, the senior advocate was in two minds. Given his “past record as reported in the media and found in books,” he said he was a little hesitant.
“But later I thought it is not the work of a lawyer to pass judgement on anyone’s past or present but service the rights and interests of a victimised person,” says Chintan. According to Chintan, lack of enthusiastic, effective and expert lawyers on prisoners’ rights was the main reason that delayed his release. “Otherwise, the same legal case could have been made as soon as he had crossed the age of 65, which is some 14 years ago,” he adds.
With time, Chintan began to see other sides to his client and realised there is more to him than the reputation he carries. Behind bars, Sobhraj devoured books. “I also very impressed with his knowledge of human rights and criminal jurisprudences of not only Nepal but also India, the UK, Europe, the US and of the UN system,” he says. Of course, his “good manners, intelligence, hard-working nature and concern for his fellow inmates stood him in good stead,” he adds.
In prison, Chintan says, Sobhraj took up the cases of thousands of fellow prisoners who had suffered unfair trials, inadequate food and nutrition, poor living conditions and the lack of proper space for sleep and clothes among others. He also filed a writ petition in the Nepal Supreme Court seeking adequate ration and proper healthcare for prisoners.
Sobhraj, who spoke to this writer a few months ago, was hopeful of freedom and said three months after his release would be spent travelling across different countries for a documentary on his life. At 78, zest for life is something Sobhraj won’t be lacking at all.