Vijay wins again

Naraynsingh had been freed of the charge of the murder of his wife, which took place on June 26, 1994. Following a Preliminary Inquiry, Deputy Chief Magistrate Mark Wellington on March 4 of this year dismissed the State’s case against Naraynsingh, after ruling that a prima facie case had not been made out against the doctor.

Not satisfied with the magistrate’s decision, the State moved to exercise the next option and applied to re-indict. The application to re-indict was filed by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on Monday just before 4 pm. Accompanying the application was the note-takers’ hand-written manuscript of the notes of evidence. Sources said according to information available to them, up to Tuesday a judge had not yet been assigned.

It is understood that on Wednesday morning the Registrar of the Supreme Court, Evelyn Peterson, requested the typed notes of evidence. These notes consisting of over 350 pages, (which had to be sent for at the San Fernando Court) were taken to the Registrar at the Hall of Justice shortly after lunch on Thursday afternoon. By 4 pm on Friday, the Office of the DPP received correspondence from the Registrar informing that the matter had been discharged by Justice Volney.

Legal sources yesterday said they were amazed at the alacrity with which this matter was disposed, having regard to the historical record of the time taken to consider matters in the court.

One legal source stated that it was "really extraordinary" to have an application filed on Monday afternoon just before 4 pm and completed by Friday of the same week. "It might even be unprecedented," the source remarked, adding that in some instances these things took over a year. "Sometimes the date of the draft warrant has to be changed in terms of the terms, for example from (19)97 to 98, or 02 to 03," the source revealed.

The application to re-indict must be considered by a judge who is presented with all the documents and reads through them. There are no oral arguments and there is no right of hearing. The judge receives a draft committal order and an affidavit from the DPP setting out the basis on which he is inviting the judge to overturn the magistrate’s ruling. The DPP would also draw to the judge’s attention particular evidence as well as cite legal authorities on which the State relied to make its case. "It is a lot of reading," one source said. Another source said that at a time when people were complaining bitterly about the long delays in the judicial system, Justice Volney had clearly set a standard (in terms of speedy decision) for his peers to follow.

Sources disclosed that the State had also written a letter on Monday asking the Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma to recuse himself from officiating in any way in this matter, including the appointment of a judge to handle the procedure. A similar letter to the Registrar, relative to Acting Chief Justice Carlos John, was sent out on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning the Registrar informed the State that both letters were conveyed to the CJ who wished to advise that he plays no part in the assignment of judges in these matters and that this is usually done by a committee of three judges.

The deadline to apply to re-indict Naraynsingh would have ended on September 4, exactly six months after he was freed (on March 4) by Magistrate Wellington. The discharging of the matter by Volney brings the legal process against the vascular surgeon to a complete end. There can be no appeal and he can never again be charged with this crime.

His current wife Seeromani Maharaj Naraynsingh and businessman Elton Ramasir who were charged with the same offence, were committed to stand trial for murder and are currently in prison awaiting trial.

It was Chief Justice Sharma’s alleged attempts to interfere in the Vijay Naraynsingh case that led Prime Minister Patrick Manning to initiate proceedings against him, with a view to his possible removal from office.

The Prime Minister, after receiving affidavits from the DPP, Attorney General John Jeremie, High Court judge Mark Mohammed and Sharma, advised the President George Maxwell Richards to appoint a tribunal to deal with the Chief Justice matter. Shortly after, the CJ filed for judical review which is now before the Court and the President has put the appointment of the tribunal on hold.