Frankie Khan ‘partially’ wins case

In a written ruling delivered yesterday, Justice David Harris ruled against Khan’s claim against former Assistant Commissioner of Police Glenroy Woodley- the police officer who charged him in 2005 – as well as the Attorney General; but ruled in favour of the claim against former PNM councillor Dansam Dhansook, who made the allegations against the PNM chairman.

Dhansook, who never put in an appearance in court to defend Khan’s lawsuit against him, has been ordered to pay damages, which will be quantified by Master of the High Court. Khan will pay Woodley’s and the AG’s legal costs. Justice Harris disagreed with Khan’s contention that Woodley and the state ought to have known of the inevitable failure of the prosecution against him as it had in its possession several witness statements from persons which contradicted the allegations made by Dhansook.

He said the evidence placed before woodley at that time spoke sufficiently to the existence of corruption and that it was reasonable for the police officer to honestly believe the allegations made by Dhansook. He said “it was reasonable” for the police officer to believe that the circumstances described by Dhansook were true and
that those circumstances would have led any reasonably minded individual to believe the former councillor as well.

He held that it was not unusual for there to be contradictory evidence in a criminal prosecution, adding also that Khan failed to show a lack of reasonable and probable cause on the part of Woodley as well as the state for pursuing criminal charges against him. “The evidence that the second defendant had before him spoke of an attempt to pervert the course of justice; that the claimant misconducted himself in office and was corrupt. It is the court’s view that the second defendant conducted a fair and thorough investigation into the allegations made by the first defendant (Dhansook),”

The judge said. six corruption charges were filed against Khan related to his alleged misbehaviour in public office between 2001 and 2003 in that he allegedly accepted $120,500 in bribes from Dhansook, in exchange for contracts. The proceedings against Khan were discontinued by Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard in 2010.