Barbara Gayle, Staff ReporterATTORNEY-AT-LAW CHARLES Ganga-Singh, who was fired in November 2002, from his post as legal officer of the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC), has filed an appeal against a ruling of the Judicial Review Court.
Last month the court threw out Ganga-Singh's motion for an order to quash the BGLC's decision to fire him.
Justice Ingrid Mangatal upheld a preliminary point by Dennis Morrison, Q.C. and attorney-at-law Courtney Bailey, that Ganga-Singh's motion for judicial review was wholly inappropriate, and was an abuse of the process of the court.
Ganga-Singh had contended that the board of the BGLC did not have the authority to fire him because he was a public servant.
GROUNDS OF APPEAL
Several grounds of appeal have been filed in which Ganga-Singh is contending that the case fell within the realm of Public Law, as he had constitutional and statutory status, both through his tenure with the BGLC, and particularly when he was carrying out his crown prosecutorial role. He claims further that since his appointment was permanent and pensionable, he was entitled to a fair hearing before the matter of dismissal arose.
Ganga-Singh was fired on November 18, 2002, after the board of the BGLC had a hearing and concluded that there was an irreconcilable loss of trust and confidence in Ganga-Singh's ability to perform his duties. The dismissal arose from Ganga-Singh's withdrawal of charges against a man who was brought before the court for illegal bookmaking and unlawful gaming. The board said it found Ganga-Singh's explanation for withdrawing the charges to be unacceptable.
