11th hour injunction.
IN a late night sitting at the Hall of Justice, Madame Justice Judith Jones granted an injunction to Chief Justice Sat Sharma restraining Commissioner of Police Trevor Paul, Assistant Commissioner Wellington Virgil, and all police officers from taking steps to institute any criminal proceedings against the Chief Justice.
Lawyers for the Chief Justice hustled to the Hall of Justice yesterday afternoon after the police went to Sharma’s Fairways, Maraval home to execute a warrant for his arrest.
At first, attorneys Rajiv Persad, Ravi Heffes-Doon, Adrian Byrne and Sharma’s son Shiv went before Jones seeking an order to block the execution of the warrant.
They emerged at 8 pm without commenting on the outcome of the case. They returned an hour later, but with added artillery. They were accompanied by Fyard Hosein SC, Rikki Harnanan, and Rishi Dass. This hearing lasted one hour before some of the lawyers emerged from the building, saying they had to perfect the order granted by the judge.
They returned at 10.45 pm and went before the Registrar of the Supreme Court, Evelyn Ann Petersen to ensure that the order was perfected. When they finally left the Hall of Justice at about 11 pm, everything was in order.
To ensure that the court order was not breached, Jones ordered that her decision be left with the secretary to the Commissioner of Police, the sentry to the Police Administration Building, with acting Inspector Raphael Romany or any other police officer attempting to take any action, by causing the order to be published in a daily or weekly newspaper, a radio station or a television station in Trinidad and Tobago.
It was also ordered that Sharma file an affidavit setting out the facts by 4 pm on Tuesday and served upon the defendants by 4 pm on Wednesday.
Last Monday, Jones granted an order blocking Deputy DPP Carla Brown-Antoine from taking steps to arrest Sharma.
Then on Thursday, the judge added Virgil to the list. Last night, the entire police service were blocked from erecting an arrest on the CJ.
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