Magistrate unaware Panday case stayed

Espinet came to the Port-of-Spain First Court ready to deliver her ruling on a submission made by Panday’s attorney Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj SC, over whether she should recuse herself from the case on the basis of her position as a trustee of the Morris Marshall Foundation.

But when she called the matter at 9.30 am, Maharaj rose to his feet to inform her of the High Court stay which was granted on June 5 by Justice Judith Jones. Maharaj informed the Magistrate that Jones on that date granted leave for Panday to challenge the proceedings and in an interim order further granted an immediate stay of proceedings which pressed ahead after the Privy Council rejected Panday’s attempt to block the proceedings on the basis of them being oppressive on April 9.

“The effect of this stay on proceedings is that the court no longer has jurisdiction on this matter,” Maharaj told Espinet. “Your worship is not permitted in law to preside over this hearing,” the Opposition Chief Whip and Tabaquite MP, further advised.

Espinet looked at defence attorneys including Ravi Rajcoomar and Mickela Panday, daughter of the UNC Opposition Leader, as well as State prosecutor Wayne Rajbansie, with what appeared to be some concern.

“If there is a stay I would have expected to be duly notified. It should have been brought to my attention (before today). If there is a stay that is something very serious,” Espinet said. “You have been left in the dark,” Maharaj said, noting that the task of informing the court of such a development normally lies with the Chief State Solicitor’s department within the Office of the Attorney General.

“When I served as AG that is what used to happen,” he quipped. Panday faces a retrial on three charges of failing to declare a joint London bank account to the Integrity Commission. The three charges are the same charges he was freed of last year on the basis of “apparent bias”.

The retrial is being challenged on the basis that Espinet, having already presided over another inquiry in which Panday is charged in relation to bribery allegations stemming from the Piarco Airport project, should not hear the matter. Both the defence and the State asked the Magistrate to step down because the evidence in the two cases overlap. Maharaj yesterday filed another application to stop the Integrity retrial, this time on the basis of Espinet’s position as a trustee on the Morris Marshall Foundation, an organisation he argues is linked with the PNM.