Jagdeo Singh back in single-unit cell

Convicted attorney-at-law Jagdeo Singh wants out of a cell that he is now occupying with two other criminals.

Singh, a convicted felon, was successful yesterday in getting High Court judge Justice Alan Mendonca to order Commissioner of Prisons Leo Abraham to remove him from a cell occupied by two other convicts. The application was argued by attorneys Dana Seetahal and Rikki Harnanan. Singh, who was sentenced to seven years on corruption charges, was moved on June 3, 2003, from a single-unit cell to another cell with two prisoners which included a man charged with manslaughter and another convicted of a narcotic-related crime.

Singh, who objected to the transfer, levelled several charges against the Commissioner of Prisons. Singh said that the transfer was contrary to law and in excess of the Commissioner’s jurisdiction. His attorneys’ arguments before Justice Mendonca was that Abraham’s decision amounted to a breach of natural justice and an abuse of his power.
Justice Mendoca made an interim order instructing Abraham to immediately remove Singh from the present cell with two other inmates and put him in a cell by himself in the maximum security prison.

The judge will later hear substantial arguments on the judicial review proceedings brought by Singh challenging the decision of Abraham to remove him from his cell and place him in a cell with others. Jagdeo was sentenced to two seven-year terms of imprisonment to run concurrently on corruption charges. He challenged his conviction before the Court of Appeal and lost and has since petitioned the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which has deemed the matter fit to be heard during the court’s vacation.