Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, has asked the High Court to dismiss an interlocutory application through which Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed is seeking immediate release on bail, arguing that the defence has pursued a remedy that cannot properly be considered before the substantive judicial review is determined.
Nandlall advanced the objection on Thursday before Justice Priscilla Chandra-Hanif at the Demerara High Court, contending that Mohamed’s request for interim bail is founded on a jurisprudential error.
The Attorney General maintained that bail is a consequential remedy arising from the judicial review proceedings and cannot be independently sought ahead of the court’s determination of the substantive challenge.
Mohamed is challenging Magistrate Abigail Gibbs’ October 30 decision to deny him bail on an indictable cybercrime charge.
The substantive judicial review, brought by his mother, Bonita Mohamed, acting as his next friend, seeks to have that decision quashed and bail granted.
However, with the substantive matter scheduled for November 23, the defence filed a separate interlocutory application on November 8, seeking Mohamed’s release pending the outcome of the judicial review.
The application was filed by Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, together with attorneys Siand Dhurjon and Damien DaSilva.
The charge against Mohamed and Police Constable Ryan Greene concerns the alleged unauthorised access to and transfer of Safe Country surveillance footage linked to the October 12 shooting incident involving Senior Superintendent Prem Narine.
The prosecution alleges that Mohamed paid $800,000 for the footage.
Both men were remanded after Magistrate Gibbs refused bail.
A third police constable, Ashton Chappelle, was also charged and remanded to prison in connection with the alleged access to and transfer of the footage.
