Singh ’s stay of proceeding application heard
No person, including Aman Ravindra-Singh, has the licence to call anybody corrupt or violent.
And that no individual can make defamatory allegations under the guise of exercising their freedom of expression.
Lawyer for the Prime Minister and the Attorney-General, Gul Fatima said this in the case of Lautoka lawyer, Ravindra-Singh, who has been convicted for contempt of court.
He appeared in the Civil High Court on Wednesday for a hearing on his application for a permanent stay.
The applicants had brought committal proceedings after RavindraSingh had failed to comply with the Orders of the Court made on July 24, 2020.
Ravindra-Singh argued he had been deprived of his right to a fair hearing and alleged that evidence was not limited to the committal proceedings.
Ravindra-Singh argued that he was entitled to use the words violent and corrupt as he was exercising his freedom of expression.
He was asked what he understood from the judgment delivered in the defamation proceedings and in which these words were found to be libellous.
He argued that he was not restrained from using these words by any Order of the Court.
Ms Fatima argued that the application for permanent stay was a desperate attempt to derail the sentencing and mitigation hearing.
She submitted that Ravindra-Singh’s affidavit was possibly a template from a separate matter as none of these matters were relevant to these proceedings.
Ravindra-Singh was aware the defamatory words had been adjudicated upon and his continuous use of the words was indeed contemptuous.
Ms Fatima submitted that Ravindra-Singh had appeared during the committal proceedings, he had been duly served with all evidentiary material that the applicant relied upon during the hearing and was present at the time of the hearing.
Ravindra-Singh was on multiple occasions given more time to prepare for his case, file affidavits, and engage counsel, however, he had chosen not to do so.
Both parties were directed to file written submissions by Friday and the ruling in the matter will be delivered on August 9.