‘Conspiracy to remove CJ’

IN AN immediate response to the Prime Minister’s decision to advise the President to set up a tribunal to investigate Chief Justice Sat Sharma, Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday has called for a commission of inquiry to investigate if there was a conspiracy against the Chief Justice. He said the leak of confidential letters to the media indicated that there was a conspiracy to remove the Chief Justice.

Panday spoke to reporters after the adjournment of Parliament yesterday. Asserting that the Opposition has no confidence in the process, Panday stated, “It cannot be the proper course. It cannot be justice seemed to be done, or being done.” Hitting out at Manning’s reasons for the basis of the allegations of misbehaviour levelled against Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma, specifically the reports by the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General, Panday said: “It has to do with statements he has been making critical of the Government, particularly at the opening of the law courts,” and that the Chief Justice “in the performance of his duties made statements which the Government perceives to be critical of it.”

Panday said that the Prime Minister is the convening authority of the tribunal, as well as, the head of the Government which was criticised. He said the framers of the Constitution could not have perceived such a situation, therefore in this case, Section 137 of the TT Constitution, which allows the Prime Minister to appoint the tribunal to, “judge someone in a case in which the Prime Minister is involved,” should be deferred in favour of a commission of inquiry to investigate whether there was a conspiracy, as well as the Chief Justice’s conduct. He said that the tribunal announced by Manning would investigate the CJ alone, and due to the perception of a wider conspiracy which may include the Prime Minister, a commission of inquiry should instead be constituted to probe all events and issues surrounding the matter, including leaks to the media.

Panday was also highly critical of the media leaks and the subsequent failure of the Scotland Yard investigation. “I find it strange that in a small place like Trinidad and Tobago, with not so smart journalists, that officers would come from Scotland Yard and not know how the leak took place — and the leak was deliberate in order to deal with the Chief Justice.” He reported that attempts to meet with the Prime Minister to discuss the situation proved futile.