Seven hours after the delivery of the Privy Council ruling which dismissed his appeal, Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma appeared in court to face a criminal charge of attempting to pervert the course of public justice.
By Darren BahawWith hunched shoulders and both hands in his trouser pockets, Sharma, dressed in a grey business suit, accentuated with a bright yellow pocket handkerchief and yellow and blue striped tie against a white shirt, was escorted into court by four uniformed police officers, including the head of the Court and Process Branch, Snr Supt Wayne Gilbert.
He appeared before Senior Magistrate Lianne Lee Kim at 2 p.m. and immediately took a seat in the prisoner's dock, staring ahead and at times looking over his right shoulder to his son, Shiv, an attorney, and close friend Alvin Fitzpatrick SC, who sat in the public benches. His wife, Kalawaty, and other relatives sat on the rear bench closer to the exit.
The only other people in court were reporters and police officers.
Sharma had earlier surrendered himself to the Fraud Squad on Richmond Street, Port of Spain, where he was fingerprinted and processed before being taken to the Port of Spain Magistrates' Court.
The car carrying Sharma drove into the basement of the court house.
Minutes before the court hearing, a copy of a press release signed by one of Sharma's lawyers, Rajiv Persad, was distributed to members of the media in the corridor.
"The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has decided that the significant factual issues in this case must be decided by the criminal courts."
The statement expressed concern about the way that this matter was dealt with by the Executive pointing out that the government was behind the release of a report which confirmed many of the Chief Justice's concerns.
"The attorneys for the Honourable Chief Justice are confident that once full disclosure is made by the State of all relevant information in its possession that these matters will be fully ventilated and that the role of the State in this matter will become plain and apparent.
"In the meantime, the Chief Justice has instructed his attorneys to indicate that he will co-operate with the authorities and in this regard will present himself at the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Police Wellington Virgil in order for the criminal process to begin.
"The Chief Justice has faith in the criminal justice system. He also wishes to make it clear that he is not guilty of any wrongdoing," the statement added.
Back in the courtroom, after the lawyers for the State and the defence had made their announcements, Lee Kim motioned to the prisoner, saying: "Chief Justice if you will stand." She then read out the charge against him.
She said the charge was laid indictably, meaning that he was not called upon to enter any plea at this stage, and noted that bail-in the sum of $250,000-had already been endorsed on his warrant of arrest.
That warrant was the same one which police officers had tried to execute on the night of July 14, at Sharma's Maraval residence, but were stopped after High Court Judge Judith Jones intervened and blocked the Police Service from arresting the Chief Justice.
Deputy Director if Public Prosecutions, Carla Brown-Antoine, noted that the officer who laid the charge against Sharma, Sgt Raphael Romany, was out of the country but noted that the lead investigator, Assist Commissioner of Police Wellington Virgil, was present in court.
Persad told the magistrate that the Clerk of the Peace III (Eugene Prince) had already examined the documents which were going to be used to secure his client's bail and found no difficulty with them.
Another of Sharma's attorneys, Fyard Hosein SC, told the magistrate that the defence team needed to contact British Queen's Counsel Andrew Mitchell to determine his availability and after a short discussion between State and defence attorneys they agreed that the matter be adjourned to January 5, 2007. Both Mitchell and Desmond Allum SC, another member of the defence team, were absent at the hearing.
Sharma was guarded by one uniformed police officer at the office of the Clerk of the Peace for about 45 minutes after his court appearance before his bail was secured.
The court hearing was all over in four minutes and Sharma left as he had entered, emerging from the basement car park, this time accompanied by his wife, sitting in the back seat of the unmarked police car.
