Judge to rule on whether President can be sued

Justice William Ramlal will rule later this month in the CN Sharma High Court case on the preliminary point of whether the President could be sued in the local courts.

Justice Ramlal made this indication on Wednesday when the matter came up for hearing. The issue of presidential powers, which was argued extensively during the hearing, will determine the immunity of the Head of State and ultimately whether CN Sharma’s challenge to the four-month suspension of his television licence can be heard. It also points to the President sitting and determining a complaint in which he was the subject.

Attorney General Doodnauth Singh, in his submissions on the issue, contended that the President of the country could not be challenged in a court of law and referred to Sharma’s motion as a challenge to President Bharrat Jagdeo’s presidential powers.