No injunction against Privileges Committee

PARLIAMENT has denied there was a court injunction preventing a meeting of the Privileges Committee on Tuesday on an issue regarding Oropouche MP Dr Roodal Moonilal.

In a release from the Parliament corporate communications department it was reported the Committee of Privileges met at 2.30 pm that day and made the following decisions: to adjourn the hearing on a matter of contempt referred to the Committee alleging that Moonilal, Member for Oropouche East, uttered threatening words to another member of the Houses; and take no further action in a matter of contempt referred to the committee which is now the subject of a court action in defamation against Moonilal.

"Despite statements made in the media to the contrary, there was no injunction issued by any court restraining the Committee of Privileges from meeting."

The release said a bundle of court documents was dropped off at the Parliament around 8 am that morning.

"It related to an action filed yesterday evening against the Attorney General by Dr Roodal Moonilal in which he claimed to be fearful that his constitutional rights were in jeopardy by the intended action of the Committee of Privileges which he felt was not properly constituted and was infected with bias. He also boldly invited the Judiciary to consider ordering an injunction against the Committee of Privileges, a Committee of the House of Representatives appointed in accordance with the rules and practice of the House, and representative of the House itself.

"The Speaker nor the Committee of Privileges had been served and no pre-action protocol letter was received by Parliament. The defendant was listed as the Attorney General. Despite the lateness of the information reaching the Parliament, Senior Counsel Deborah Peake, appeared amicus (not a party in the case) in the matter on behalf of the Speaker and the House of Representatives."

The release said the Speaker authorised the Senior Counsel to give an undertaking that hearings before the Committee of Privileges into the allegations of contempt of the House against Moonilal will be adjourned until the hearing of the application before the Court or further order.

"It is expected that the Court will hear this matter in April."

The release said the undertaking by the Speaker "was made out of respect for the Court and in keeping with the comity of relations that exist between the Legislature and the Judiciary.

"Once proceedings are before a Court, the House and its Committees usually imposes a restraint on itself, especially if prejudice can result to any party. Contrary to any other report, no injunction was granted by any Court restraining the Committee of Privileges from meeting. In fact the committee met at 2:30 (Tuesday). At this meeting members were apprised of a number of developments since it last met. The Speaker as chairman of the committee moved the committee to agree to adopt the undertaking given to the court this morning."

The release said that also at the meeting the committee took note of an action in defamation filed against Moonilal by the Prime Minister on February 5 and made a decision in this regard which will be reported to the House very shortly.

Moonilal filed an injunction on Monday, hours before the committee was scheduled to sit on Tuesday to consider whether he breached its privileges during debate in the House in October last year. He is accused of wilfully and intentionally misleading the House; making injurious allegations against the MP for Diego Martin West, Dr Keith Rowley, when no substantive motion was before the House; and undermining the dignity of the House by abusing the privilege of freedom of speech.