The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has challenged a recent High Court decision to release murder accused Marcus Bisram from prison.
This challenge comes less than one week after High Court Judge, Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall freed Bisram, having ruled that the DPP acted outside of the law when she ordered Magistrate Renita Singh to commit him to stand trial for the murder of carpenter Fayaz Narindedatt.
DPP, Shalimar Ali-Hack has filed an appeal with the Full Court against this judgement.
On March 30, Magistrate Singh upheld the no-case submission by Marcus’ battery of lawyers at the Whim Magistrate’s Court. As such, Bisram became a free man.
However, his freedom was short-lived when the DPP instructed Magistrate Singh to immediately re-open Bisram’s case and commit him to stand trial in the High Court. This led to the Magistrate committing him on April 6 to face a judge and jury over the death of Narindedatt.
At that time, Bisram’s lead counsel, Sanjeev Datadin, challenged the DPP’s instructions in the High Court and clarified that Hack acted in infringement of the statutes when she issued her orders.
He contended that the DPP’s decision was unreasonable, unlawful, malicious, made in bad faith and contrary to the rules of natural justice. He also argued that there was no legal foundation for the DPP to order the Magistrate to commit his client.
Earlier this month, Justice Morris-Ramlall, concurred with the defence’s argument and quashed the DPP’s orders to commit Bisram to stand trial as well as to have the case reopened.
Justice Morris-Ramlall also professed that Bisram’s arrest and subsequent imprisonment was unlawful and ordered his release from the Camp Street Prison. This led to his release on June 2.
After a long legal battle,, Bisram was extradited from the US to face murder charge. Bisram is accused of ordering the death of Narinedatt between October 31 and November 1, 2016. In November 2018, he was extradited to Guyana after a US Appeal Court, two months prior, ordered his extradition after denying both a rehearing of his appeal and a motion to stay the extradition.
