Appeal Court rules against SSA

THE STRATEGIC Services Agency (SSA) has lost an appeal which challenged the dismissal of its application to strike out a judicial review claim sought by UNC activist Ravi Balgobin Maharaj.

Justice of Appeal Rajendra Narine, who delivered the decision – one of his last before retirement – and Justices of Appeal Gregory Smith and Andre des Vignes ruled that the SSA’s appeal must fail.

Maharaj filed the claim after the SSA refused to provide him with information he sought in a Freedom of Information Act application. The UNC activist wanted copies of documents containing the number of interceptions done without judicial warrants for 2015-2016; copies of financial statements submitted to the National Security minister for those years and copies containing the number of regional and international conferences and seminars SSA officials attended.

The SSA sought to have Maharaj’s claim struck out and declared a nullity since, after he was granted permission to pursue his claim, subsidiary legislation was enacted by Legal Notice 151 of 2017, which exempted the agency from the operation of the FOIA. The SSA also argued that there were crucial defects to the application filed by Maharaj and were not in keeping with procedure for doing so set out under the Civil Proceedings Rules.

In his decision on July 2, last year, Justice Devindra Rampersad held that the alleged deficiencies in Maharaj’s claim could have been cured by the court at the case management stage, and the subsidiary legislation was issued after leave was granted.

The SSA appealed Rampersad’s decision and in its ruling, the appeal court said it found nothing wrong with Rampersad’s decision to remedy the irregularities in Maharaj’s claim under CPR 26.8.

Narine said, “I am of the view that the procedural errors in the fixed date claim form and affidavit were of a nature which could be rectified by the court.

“I am also of the view that it would not have been just for the court to strike out the respondent’s claim for judicial review.”

He also held that Maharaj’s rights under the FOIA to access information could not be affected by the legal notice since it was issued after his judicial review application was made, and “therefore it cannot apply retrospectively.”

Narine and the two other judges also made an order for the SSA to pay Maharaj’s legal costs in the high court matter and two-thirds of the cost of the appeal.

Maharaj was represented by Anand Ramlogan,SC, Douglas Bailey and Gerald Ramdeen while Deborah Peake SC, and Randal Hector appeared for the SSA.