The State has been ordered to pay half the legal costs of former agriculture minister Devant Maharaj’s lawsuit over the failure of the Minister of National Security to publish annual reports on wire tapping between 2012 and 2015.
Delivering a decision on the issue in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday, Justice Frank Seepersad ruled that Maharaj was entitled to costs even though his lawsuit was rendered academic as the ministry admitted its error and sought to correct it.
However, Seepersad ruled that he is only entitled to 50 per cent of what was claimed, as he was a Cabinet minister during the period of non-compliance.
Seepersad also pointed out that Maharaj had complained of being improperly monitored in the past during the debate of the Interception of Communications Bill in 2010.
“Notwithstanding this, the applicant was concerned and was aware since November 2010 of it and nothing was done about it for four years. The reality is despite the change in government nothing was done,” Seepersad said.
He added: “It leaves a disquiet in the court’s mind that even after a change of government nothing was done or said. With the passage of time it becomes increasingly difficult to collate the information and nothing was done to protect the public’s interests to ensure that the reports were filed.”
In his lawsuit, Maharaj was claiming that Section 24 of the legislation requires that annual reports, on how many warrants were obtained from the courts, are to be laid in Parliament within the first three months of each year.
He said the reports must also provide information on the number of warrants refused or revoked by the courts, the number of applications made for renewals and the number and nature of the interceptions made pursuant to the warrants granted.
Maharaj claimed that the lawsuit was filed in the public’s interest as well as his, due to his previous experience with wire tapping.
Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the ministry moved to file the reports before Parliament.
Maharaj still requested that Seepersad make orders against National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, but he (Seepersad) refused based on the fact that Dillon did not hold a Cabinet post at the time and Maharaj did.
Maharaj was represented by Dinesh Rambally, Jagdeo Singh, Criston J Williams and Kiel Taklalsingh while Russell Martineau, SC, Brent James and Zelica Haynes-Soo Hon represented the ministry.