FORMER Magistrate Chandra Sohan was freed of an attempt to obstruct the course of justice charge when Senior Magistrate Alex Moore upheld a no case submission by the defence – which included a battery of lawyers at the New Amsterdam Court on Thursday.
The prosecution was ordered to close its case by the Court, after they failed to produce substantial evidence although several police ranks including two Inspectors from the Special Crimes Unit at Police Headquarters testified.

According to attorney-at-law Mursalene Bacchus, the prosecution failed to advance evidence to prove that the defendant told anyone to give false evidence. The complainant failed to testify although the case commenced in June last.

At his initial court appearance Sohan was released on self-bail. He was being represented by attorneys: Sanjeev Datadin, Mursalene Bacchus, Horatio Edmonson, Arundranauth Gossai and Ryan Crawford.

Sohan was not required to plead to the allegation which stated that between on June 1 and 30, 2017 at New Amsterdam, Berbice, he willfully attempted to pervert the course of justice, that is to say he asked Zubair Ally to give false evidence before His Worship Rabindranauth Singh in the preliminary inquiry of the murder committed on Faiyaz Narinedatt, at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court.

In November 2016, Narinedatt’s battered body was found lying along the Number 70 Public Road, Corentyne, hours after an evening at the home of overseas-based Guyanese Marcus Bisram. It is alleged that Narinedatt was beaten and dumped on the public road after he allegedly rejected certain advances from Bisram.