PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):Prime Minister Patrick Manning said yesterday he was not "prepared" for the decision handed down by a magistrate court resulting in the dismissal of the charge of perverting the course of public justice against Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma.
"Ladies and gentlemen, for a start, I was not prepared for the decision that was announced yesterday. I was not prepared for it. I was very taken by as much surprise as everybody else," he told a new conference.
Charge dismissed
On Monday, Senior Magistrate Lianne Lee Kim dismissed the charge against the Chief Justice after the prosecution said it no longer wished to pursue the case.
The move followed after the prosecution said that the main witness Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls, indicated that he was not willing to give further evidence.
"Having regard to the position indicated to us by this particular witness, we have decided to adopt a particular position. We are not proceeding any further with this prosecution. We are asking that this matter be discharged," Senior Counsel Gilbert Peterson said.
In a later statement Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Carla Brown-Antoine said the crown had no othe but to withdraw the case based on the decision taken by the Chief Magistrate.
"Counsel for the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions indicated to the presiding magistrate that this course was necessary having regard to the position indicated to the prosecution by its main witness.
"The position which the main witness, Mr. Sherman Mc Nicolls, has indicated to the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions is that he was no longer willing to give any further evidence in the criminal prosecution. As a minister of justice, confronted with this development, the prosecution was obliged to stop the case," Brown-Antoine added.
Sharma was accused of seeking to influence McNicolls during the trial of former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday who was convicted last year on charges of failing to declare a London bank account to the Integrity Commission.
