Justice Diana Insanally on Wednesday dismissed a motion for contempt brought by former Ethnic Relations Commission Chairman Juan Edghill against Kaieteur News and its columnist Freddie Kissoon, agreeing that the proceedings were inappropriate and bad in law.
Justice Insanally also awarded costs in the sum of $50,000 each to the respondents, that is, the National Media and Publishing Company Limited, which publishes Kaieteur News, and Kissoon.
Last August, Senior Counsel Ashton Chase, filed the motion on Edghill’s behalf following the publication of a Kissoon column, titled “Achilles’ heel of the Gorgons,” which he claimed contained views pertaining to court proceedings in which the then ERC Chairman was a defendant. Chase asked that a Writ of Attachment be issued against the newspaper and Kissoon for penal consequences over the publication of the article.
Kissoon’s lawyer Nigel Hughes told Stabroek News that he had argued that the manner in which Edghill approached the court was incorrect and was not appropriate for the proceedings that he was pursuing. He said that after hearing arguments, the judge upheld their position that Edghill could not approach the court by way of motion for contempt of court. He said that based on this argument, the case was dismissed and cost awarded.
Hughes noted that while Edghill applied for a stay of execution, the defence argued that they were nothing to stay.
Edghill, in a supporting affidavit, contended that Kissoon’s views and opinions touching on the court proceedings were “aimed, calculated and directed to prejudice a fair and impartial hearing thereof.”
“I respectfully seek the orders set out in Motion hearing against the respondents who must be aware that such comments, views and interjections ought not to be made, regarding matters before the court.
His comments were deliberate and aimed at unlawfully influencing the decision of the court,” he said.
