National Border Patrol Director Daniel Seeram is continuing his fight for freedom after being remanded to prison pending sentencing for assaulting his former wife.
He first asked the Magistrate to reconsider the remand order, then challenged it in the High Court, and has now taken his case to the Court of Appeal.
Through attorney Nigel Hughes of Hughes, Fields & Stoby, Seeram filed a notice of appeal against the October 2 decision of Magistrate Abigail Gibbs at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court. He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2026.
The appeal seeks to have the Magistrate’s ruling overturned and her order keeping him in custody pending the sentencing hearing quashed. Seeram has also asked the appellate court to grant him bail under conditions it considers appropriate while he awaits sentencing.
His lawyers advanced 20 grounds in support of the appeal, arguing that the Magistrate’s handling of the case was flawed and that her conclusions could not safely be sustained by the evidence. The notice described the decision as “unsafe and unsatisfactory in all the circumstances” and alleged that “a substantial miscarriage of justice has resulted”.
Central to the challenge was the defence of self-defence. Hughes argued that Magistrate Gibbs failed to properly consider the legal principles governing that defence and wrongly assessed the burden and standard of proof.
The notice also disputed the Magistrate’s interpretation of Seeram’s account of the confrontation. His evidence, as outlined in the appeal, was that he pushed his former wife away during an initial struggle in the hallway and pushed her a second time when she pulled his chain, causing it to break before she fell.
The defence contended that Magistrate Gibbs inaccurately reduced this account to the “one push” and rejected the defence on the basis that the force used “extended beyond the single push he described”.
Seeram’s lawyer further questioned the Magistrate’s acceptance of the complainant’s testimony, pointing to inconsistencies in her account of injuries to her wrist, breast, and temple. They also raised concerns about her failure to mention a firearm in her initial statement and her subsequent disclosure of it about a month later.
The notice challenged the Magistrate’s description of the complainant as “a witness of truth”, arguing that she had not adequately addressed the inconsistencies and omissions.
Another ground concerned the medical evidence. Hughes argued that the doctor who prepared the complainant’s medical certificate was not called to testify and that the document was introduced through a police witness who had not attended the examination.
The defence also disputed the use of photographs to establish an injury to the complainant’s temple, which it said was absent from the medical certificate.
The appeal additionally questioned the Magistrate’s treatment of evidence from Sergeant Dunn. According to the notice, the Magistrate failed to properly consider evidence that Seeram had reported the incident to police first, had visible injuries and showed the officer a broken chain.
The lawyer also argued that the Magistrate drew adverse conclusions from Seeram’s evidence and failed to give sufficient reasons on key issues.
The notice reserved the right to introduce further grounds after the certified record of proceedings, notes of evidence and exhibits became available.
The appeal followed an unsuccessful judicial review application in the High Court, where Justice Joy Persaud-Singh upheld the Magistrate’s decision to remand Seeram pending sentencing.
Hughes had argued that the Magistrate effectively prejudged the sentence by ordering Seeram’s detention before receiving the probation report, victim impact statement and submissions on aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
He also challenged the Magistrate’s reliance on Section 9 of the Bail Act, submitting that the provision dealt with bail pending an appeal and was not applicable at that stage.
Deputy Solicitor General Shoshana Lall, who represented the respondents, agreed that Section 9 was not engaged. She also submitted that the offence did not carry a mandatory prison term and that there was no new evidence suggesting Seeram posed a flight risk or that circumstances had materially changed since he was initially granted bail.
Justice Persaud-Singh nevertheless found no basis to conclude that the Magistrate had acted unlawfully, irrationally or outside her jurisdiction and dismissed the judicial review application.
The charge arose from an incident on September 11, 2023, at the couple’s residence in Cummings Lodge, Greater Georgetown. Seeram was accused of assaulting his then-wife so as to cause her grievous bodily harm.
He had initially pleaded not guilty and was granted $50,000 bail when he appeared before the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court in October 2023.
According to reports published, the incident followed a dispute between Seeram and his then wife. The disagreement reportedly escalated into a physical confrontation.
Seeram was also accused of brandishing a licensed firearm during the incident. His then-wife subsequently reported the matter at the Turkeyen Police Station, leading to Seeram’s arrest and charge. Reports at the time indicated that marks of violence were observed on the woman’s body.
When the charge was first reported in October 2023, Seeram was serving as Region Four Chairman and was an executive member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).
The assault case was not the first legal matter involving Seeram and allegations concerning firearms.
Prior to the 2023 assault charge, he had been charged with using threatening language against his father-in-law following an incident involving the two men and licensed firearms.
In that matter, Seeram was placed on $20,000 bail.
Reports at the time stated that both men had made separate reports to police concerning the incident, with each alleging that the other had produced a firearm. Their firearms and ammunition were subsequently seized by police.
It had been reported in October 2023 that the legal status of that matter was unclear.
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