A victory for the citizens of T&T and the T&T Constitution.
These were the words used by social media activist Ravi Balgobin-Maharaj yesterday to describe his legal victory in an interpretation lawsuit over the need for the Police Service Commission (PSC) to get the approval of the House of Representatives before appointing an acting police commissioner.
While Maharaj said he was pleased by Justice Nadia Kangaloo upholding his case, he claimed the legal victory was bitter-sweet, as it meant that the T&T Police Service (TTPS) would be without a commissioner at its helm for quite some time.
Maharaj claimed that the People’s National Movement should bear responsibility for the uncertainty caused, as the Police Service Commission’s move to give former police commissioner Gary Griffith an acting appointment after his term ended in August, was based on a series of legal notices, including one piloted by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi earlier this year.
Maharaj stated that Al-Rawi initially defended the legal notice before his office supported his attorneys’ submissions on the issue in the lawsuit before Justice Kangaloo.
“One would have expected, therefore, that anyone with a basic understanding of the English language would have been able to discern that all protocols detailed within the legislation were mandatory for filling such an important and independent position,” Maharaj said, as he called on Al-Rawi to resign.
“In opting to allow the rogue PSC chairwoman to blatantly violate the constitutional process, and then defend her position in the face of reasonable objections, the Attorney General has manufactured the crisis T&T now finds itself in and should be forced to resign for the role that he played, as well as vulnerability he now creates in the Government,” Maharaj added.
In a subsequent press release, Maharaj took aim at Griffith, who himself took to social media to comment on the outcome of the lawsuit.
Claiming that Griffith’s comments were misleading, Maharaj questioned his claims that the outcome was the result of a conspiracy to have him removed from the post.
“First and foremost, if indeed there was a conspiracy by a member of the Government, whom he referred to subtextually, that wished for him to no longer be Commissioner of Police, then this has already been accomplished on August 17th, 2021, when his contract came to an end. There is no need for a further conspiracy to complete a task which has already occurred naturally,” Maharaj said.
Maharaj also took aim at Griffith’s claim that he never applied for the acting position after his three-year term ended.
“As someone trusted to enforce the law, you would expect that a man desperate to retain the position of Commissioner of Police would be perceptive enough to understand when an action is illegal. However, the fact that he willingly accepted the appointment without even a hint of apprehension demonstrates either flagrant ignorance or wanton disregard of those very same laws,” Maharaj said.
In a statement yesterday, attorney and former long-standing PSC member Martin George called on the Government and Opposition to come together to solve the crisis by reconstituting the commission through the appointment of members.
“We need them to act and rally together, as this is a national crisis we are facing at this point and not make it into a political football,” George said.
“What is required at this time is a level of political maturity that we have never seen before from our politicians, but we are hoping they would display it by rising to the occasion.”
George noted that while the office remains vacant, several powers exercised by the officeholder, including being the accounting officer of the TTPS, would be stymied and delayed until the commission can appoint an acting commissioner.
George also reiterated calls for politicians to consider overhauling the entire process for the selection of the Police Commissioner, as he claimed it is currently too complex and cumbersome.
“I have said it before that it is easier to appoint a President, Chief Justice, or Prime Minister than a Police Commissioner,” George said.