Crown appeals decision to stay murder charge
The Crown has filed an appeal of the decision made last week that resulted in a stay of proceedings being placed on a murder case and allowing a man accused of killing his wife to avoid a trial.
The appeal was filed at the Quebec Court of Appeal on Wednesday, one week after Superior Court Justice Alexandre Boucher agreed with Sivaloganathan Thanabalasingham’s argument that it had taken the Crown too long to prosecute his case. He was charged with the second-degree murder of 21-year-old Anuja Baskaran in August 2012, and jury selection in his trial was supposed to start on Monday. Boucher ruled that the Crown caused unnecessary delays in bringing the case to trial, in particular when it tried to have the second-degree murder charge changed to first-degree murder despite having what Boucher characterized as “weak evidence” that the homicide was planned and premeditated.
Thanabalasingham’s request was based on a decision made last summer by the Supreme Court of Canada, known as the Jordan ruling, that was intended to address long delays being experienced across Canada in bringing criminal cases to trial. Canada’s top court ruled that a person accused of a crime in Superior Court should not have to wait longer than 30 months for a trial.
The Crown argues Boucher “refused to recognize the moderately complex character of the case in a judicial district known for having to deal with problematic institutional delays.” Quebec’s Superior Court in the Montreal area — including courthouses like Laval, Longueuil, Valleyfield and St-Jérôme — has been plagued by delays for years because of a lack of judges. .
The Crown also argues Boucher did not correctly factor in how Thanabalasingham, who was detained since 2012, did not complain about delays he experienced in the case before the Supreme Court made its decision last year.
The federal government is now seeking to have Thanabalasingham removed from Canada based on his criminal record. Months before Baskaran was killed, he pleaded guilty to assault.