The appeal in the matter of Anand Kalladeen et anor v. Roger Harper et al- was yesterday dismissed by the full court.
The Full Court comprising of Honorable Justices Nareshwar Harnanan and Fidela Corbin-Lincoln, ruled that given the urgency of the matter, the court assumed jurisdiction and the stay was refused on the grounds that the substantive appeal was not nugatory and that the appeal related only to the date of the elections.
This was confirmed by Attorney-At-Law for the Respondents, Arudranauth Gossai who told Stabroek Sport that the appeal was unanimously dismissed and costs awarded in the sum of $250,000 to be paid by the Appellants.
Gossai said that the arguments presented by the Appellants were on the grounds that Justice Navindra Singh could not fix a new date and that the time for the submission of delegates was too short.
However, Gossai indicated that the judges agreed that since the matter was decided in June, 2019, the parties should have known and begun preparing their list of delegates.
He added that even in the event that the parties were unaware, when the stay was withdrawn and he filed for a new date on February 1, 2021 that should have been enough notice.
As a result, he related that the path was clear for the Demerara Cricket Board to have its Court-supervised elections tomorrow at the Demerara Cricket Club, Queenstown.
Gossai also disclosed that the Georgetown Cricket Association, East Coast Cricket Board and Upper Demerara Cricket Association had submitted their list of delegates within one hour of the ruling by Justice Singh on February 15, leaving East Bank Cricket Association and West Demerara Cricket Association, the two outstanding administrations to submit their list of delegates in compliance with the February 17 deadline set out in the ruling.
The lawyer mentioned that the issue of the Demerara Cricket Board elections in 2020 was brought up but the court viewed it as irrelevant in the context
Gossai described the dismissal as “a significant and remarkable achievement” and contended that it clears the way in “the interest of fairness and transparency.”
Meanwhile, Attorney for the Appellants, Ron Motilall revealed that the matter will be appealed.
“We are appealing the decision of a single judge in the chambers and what we would be going for is leave to appeal in the Court of Appeal,” he told Stabroek Sport.
Also representing the Appellants was C.V. Satram who said that the matter will be pursued all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice and if elections are held tomorrow, as per the ruling of Justice Singh, an application will be filed to declare the election void.
