LONDON (CMC):

The Privy Council yesterday reserved judgement in the appeal brought by embattled Trinidad and Tobago Chief Justice, Satnarine Sharma, seeking to ward off his possible arrest on a charge of perverting the course of public justice.

The five-member court heard arguments from lawyers for the state over a two-hour period dismissing Sharma's contention that the charge brought against him was politically motivated.

The lawyers said that the Chief Justice was scraping the bottom of the barrel with his allegation of political interference, and that the Privy Council essentially had to make a decision as to whether Sharma had an arguable case based on the evidence he presented to the court.

Wrong judicial review process

Queen's Counsel Michael Beloff, who is representing Police Commis-sioner Trevor Paul, told the Law Lords that the judicial review process was not the route to go in the first place.

He said that if Sharma wanted to argue political interference, he could have done so during the criminal proceedings in the courts.

Attorneys for both the state and the Chief Justice say they expect that the ruling by the Privy Council could be given within a three-week period.

Sharma is seeking leave to file for judicial review of the alleged decision of Brown Antoine to advise the police that he be charged with attempting to pervert the course of public justice.

Maximum sentence if guilty

If the Privy Council, the island's highest court grants the leave, the judicial review matter will be sent back to the local High Court for hearing, but if Sharma loses the matter, it will allow for his arrest on the criminal charge that carries a maximum life sentence.

In August, the three-member Court of Appeal in Trinidad upheld an appeal by lawyers for Brown Antoine, Paul and his assistant Wellington Virgil, against the injunctions granted by the High Court preventing the arrest of Sharma on the charge of perverting the course of public justice.

Lawyers for the Chief Justice and the state had given an undertaking before the Privy Council in August that Sharma would not have been arrested if the Court of Appeal had ruled against him. The police had been prevented from executing the arrest warrant against Sharma on July 14.

The charge arose from accusations by Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls that the Chief Justice had sought to influence his ruling in the case against former prime minister Basdeo Panday, who was later sentenced to two years in jail for failing to declare a London bank account to the Integrity Commission.

Panday, who is on TT $300,000 (US$50,000) bail, has since appealed the conviction.