Pardon for Thaksin is the mandate of HM: Chalerm

Chalerm declined to elaborate on the law, but said he would give an explanatory lecture to the opposition if it asked him during a session of the House of Representatives.

Responding to reporters' questions on whether it was necessary for convicted people to serve a penalty before receiving a royal pardon, Chalerm said: "That is only one of the possible procedures. I don't want to explain, otherwise it would be an issue.

"Don't ask the prime minister about this, as she has assigned me to take care of this [Thaksin's royal pardon]. We are not supposed to talk about it. The issue lies within the mandate of the King."

In 2008, Thaksin was sentenced to two years' jail related to a land purchase by his wife at the time, Khunying Pojaman na Pombejra. He has been living in exile ever since.

Asked why Thaksin's petition for a royal pardon had progressed so rapidly when Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had been in office for only a few weeks, Chalerm said it had been done with righteousness that he could explain fully.

After Chalerm's interview, his assistant gave copies of a document to reporters. Signed by Chalerm, it said the law did not specify the kind of cases for which His Majesty the King could or could not give a royal pardon, how long a penalty the convict must serve before seeking a royal pardon, or the prohibitions on a fugitive seeking a royal pardon.

Justice Minister Pracha Promnok said he had not acknowledged the location of the petition for a royal pardon for Thaksin. Department of Corrections director-general Chartchai Suthiklom said last week that his department had completed its role, as signatures supporting the petition had been verified and submitted to the ministry.

Chartchai said that of 3.6 million signatures, about 2 million were verified against the census, while the others contained irregularities.

Pracha said he did not know whether the Department of Corrections had submitted an opinion on the petition since the Democrats' Pirapan Salirathavibhaga was justice minister. Pirapan on Sunday wrote on Facebook that Yingluck should not submit the petition to His Majesty, as Thaksin had fled the country and had not served his sentence.

According to the law, people eligible to petition include the convict, the stakeholder and the judge, Pracha said. In principle, no one can stop the process of seeking a royal pardon and a justice minister can submit petitions to His Majesty the King case-by-case.

Yingluck said yesterday that people should pay more attention to the government's work and let the quest for a royal pardon for her brother Thaksin progress according to procedures.

"I have never said we will give priority to the petition for a royal pardon as our policy. Please let the related agency consider it and we will take a look at the conclusion again," she said.

She added that help for Thaksin had not been included in the government's policies that had been presented to Parliament.