Guidance from Court of Appeal awaited on charges against Irfaan Ali
Housing Minister, and involve house lot allocations to six former Cabinet members—former president Bharrat Jagdeo, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon and Ministers Priya Manickchand, Dr Jennifer Westford, Robert Persaud and Clement Rohee—along with other persons with connections to the then PPP/C government. The lots were sold at below market rates.
Ali has always argued through his attorney that not only do the 19 charges levelled against him not amount to an offence known to law, but that even if proven, “are impossible to yield a conviction.”
Article 182 (1) provides, “Subject to the provisions of Article 180, the holder of the office of President shall not be personally answerable to any court for the performance of the functions of his or her office or for any act done in the performance of those functions and no proceedings, whether criminal or civil, shall be instituted against him or her in his or her personal capacity in respect thereof either during his or her term of office or thereafter.”
Meanwhile, subsections (2) states, “Whilst any person holds or performs the functions of the office of President no criminal proceedings shall be instituted or continued against him or her in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by him or her in his or her private capacity and no civil proceedings shall be instituted or continued in respect of which relief is claimed against him or her or anything done or omitted to be done in his or her private capacity.”
Subsection (3) then concludes by saying, “Where provision is made by law limiting the time within which proceedings of any description may be brought against any person, the period during which any person holds or performs the function of the office of the President shall not be taken into account in calculating any period of time prescribed by that law for bringing any such proceedings as are mentioned in paragraph (2).”
With a stay of the Magistrates Court proceedings still in operation, the Chief Magistrate has since adjourned the matter to October 26th to await the guidance of the Court of Appeal.
Having completed hearing the case, the appellate court had earlier this year indicated that notices would be sent informing when it would rule. This is yet to be done.
On Sunday, Dr. Ali was sworn in as President after his party was declared winners of the March 2nd, 2020 polls.
Ali had wanted the court to also issue an order quashing the DPP’s decision to institute the charges in the first place, which he contended was irrational, unlawful, void and of no effect.
However, High Court Judge Franklyn Holder had ruled that Ali did not have a constitutional right to not be charged, contrary to what he contended in the challenge.