ATTORNEY Sase Gunraj, on behalf of Attorney-General, Anil Nandlall, has commenced High Court proceedings for libel, following the failure of Stabroek News to apologise for false charges in a letter penned by Lalbachan Christopher Ram.

The legal action follows a letter sent to the Stabroek News requesting a retraction of a letter, “It is the President’s duty alone to appoint three members of the Judicial Service Commission”, which was published on March 19, 2014.
The AG requested a retraction within seven days and warned that failing to do so would result in legal action. The request was not complied with.
Ram’s allegedly said Nandlall is careless about details, cavalier about the Constitution and the law, mischievous and obfuscatory, irresponsible, unfamiliar with basic provisions of the Constitution of Guyana and guilty of a grave dereliction of duty.
According to legal documents seen by this newspaper, Ram and Guyana Publications Inc., publisher of the Stabroek News, were listed as defendants.
The AG is claiming damages in excess of $10M for libel contained in Ram’s letter, and aggravated damages in excess of $10M, as well as orders as the Court deems just and proper.
The court documents stated that the plaintiff, the AG, was at all material times an Attorney-at-Law duly admitted to practice law in the jurisdictions of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, a member of the tenth Parliament of Guyana and was a member of the ninth Parliament of Guyana the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs and the Principal Legal Advisor to the Government of Guyana, a member of the Cabinet of the Government of Guyana, Chairman of the Law Revision Commission, an Executive Member of the Council of the Legal Education of the West Indies, and a member of the Central Committee of the ruling People’s Progressive Party.
The Stabroek News is widely read and circulated throughout Guyana and published online where it is read widely worldwide, more particularly, by the Diaspora community in Europe, North America and the Caribbean.
To this end, the AG contends that the said words in their natural and ordinary meaning meant and were understood to mean that the Plaintiff failed to advise or properly advise the President on his duty “to appoint the Judicial Service Commission” [sic]; that the Plaintiff, in his attempt to divert blame from himself, blamed the National Assembly for failing to initiate the process for nominating members to the said Commission; that the Plaintiff is careless about the discharge of his high constitutional and professional responsibilities; that the Plaintiff is cavalier about the Constitution and the law; that the Plaintiff is mischievous; that the Plaintiff is obfuscatory; that the Plaintiff is unfamiliar with the basic provisions of the Constitution of Guyana; that the Plaintiff is ignorant about the proper name of the Council of Legal Education; that the Plaintiff is unfamiliar with the provision of the Constitution in respect of appointment of the members of the Judicial Service Commission and the appointment of judges including, the appointment of the Chief Justice and Chancellor of the judiciary; that the Plaintiff is unprofessional and incompetent in the discharge of his professional and constitutional duties and functions; that the Plaintiff is irresponsible in the discharge of his professional and constitutional duties; that the Plaintiff is guilty of grave dereliction of duty; and that the Plaintiff is unfit to hold the position of Attorney-General and Ministry of Legal Affairs.
“The said letter was written and published falsely, maliciously and libelous of and concerning the Plaintiff…(it was) calculated to cause and did cause the Plaintiff public embarrassment, humiliation, ridicule, odium both nationally and internationally, both personally in his official and professional capacity,” the court document said.
The defendants are expected to appear in court within 10 days of being served the writ, inclusive of the day of such service.

(Vanessa Narine)