NEW COURT rules have been made to allow the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to file an indictment electronically in the decade-old case of the murder of Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal in 2014.
The new rules are listed in practice directions, described as delegated legislation, issued by Chief Justice Ivor Archie on May 17 and published in the Gazette. Legal sources said the new rules cannot override the provisions of the Indictable Offences (Preliminary Enquiry) Act (IOPEA).
They will take effect on May 20. The new rules provide for filing an indictment electronically using the Judiciary’s online portal (SWIF).
The date coincides with the Judiciary's commitment to provide over 8,100 pages of transcripts and original exhibits in Seetahal's case to the DPP's office.
The preliminary enquiry against the 10 men accused of murdering Seetahal was completed in July 2020 by then-senior magistrate Indrani Cedeno but the electronic files were only transmitted in three tranches to the Office of the DPP between December 20, 2023 and January 5, around the same time Cedeno was appointed a High Court judge.
The Judiciary had stated on May 4, in response to a newspaper article which stated that the documents in the Seetahal file had not been sent to the DPP's office and stated: “For matters prior to December 2023, Section 25 of the Indictable Offences (Preliminary Enquiry) Act requires that committal bundles are transmitted to the DPP."
Legal sources questioned the need for a practice direction if the Judiciary was of the view that electronic copies could have been used to file indictments for criminal matters pre-dating December 2023.
In response to the Judiciary's statement, on May 7, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC, said if he had used the electronic version of the committal bundle sent to his office by the Port of Spain District Court to file an indictment in the case of the murder of Seetahal, it would have resulted in the case being quashed.
Gaspard said then section 25 of IOPEA required that committal bundles be sent to him “without delay” at the end of a preliminary inquiry. There was no explanation from the Judiciary as to why it is taking almost four years to send over the hard copy documents.
He said it was his duty to keep the bundle until an indictment was filed and then transmit it to the Registrar. Gaspard said the bundle comprised originals of the complaints, depositions or statements of witnesses, documentary exhibits, evidence of the accused, warrants of commitment for trial and recognisances of the witnesses.
He maintained the act did not contemplate the DPP filing a valid indictment based on copies whether electronic or otherwise.
Gaspard said then since the conclusion of the preliminary enquiry, his office had made “numerous enquiries” about the delivery of the committal bundle but was repeatedly told the delay was due to its size.
He said since January 5, efforts have been made to have the original committal bundle delivered to his office but was
