The Full Court, this afternoon, dismissed the appeal filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in relation to Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall’s ruling in the Marcus Bisram matter.
Less than two weeks ago, Justice Morris-Ramlall released murder accused Bisram from prison after she ruled that the DPP acted in contravention of the law when she ordered Magistrate Renita Singh to commit him to stand trial for the murder of carpenter Fayaz Narinedatt.
Justice Morris-Ramlall also declared that Bisram’s arrest and subsequent incarceration was unlawful and ordered his release from the Camp Street Prison.
Nevertheless, DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack filed an appeal with the Full Court against this judgement.
Presiding over the Full Court, Justices Sandel Kissoon and Jo-Ann Barlow ruled that they had no jurisdiction to hear the DPP’s appeal effectively throwing the case out. The Full Court pointed the DPP in the direction of the Court of Appeal since Justice Morris-Ramlall’s ruling was given under Judicial Review.
This is the third such time that the Bisram matter is being dismissed for varying reasons.
On March 30, Magistrate Singh upheld the no-case submission by Marcus’ battery of lawyers at the Whim Magistrate’s Court in the East Berbice-Corentyne region. However, his freedom was short-lived when DPP Ali-Hack directed Magistrate Singh to re-open Bisram’s case and commit him to stand trial in the High Court. He was committed to stand trial on April 6.
Bisram’s lead counsel, Sanjeev Datadin challenged the orders in the High Court and argued that DPP Hack acted in contravention of the statutes when she issued her orders. He contended that the DPP’s decision was unreasonable, unlawful, malicious, made in bad faith and contrary to the rules of natural justice. He also argued that there was no legal foundation for the DPP to order the Magistrate to commit his client. Datadin sought, from Judge Morris-Ramlall, several other orders inclusive of Bisram’s immediate release.
Those were granted and Bisram released from the Camp Street Prison on Monday last.
Bisram was accused of ordering the death of Narinedatt between October 31 and November 1, 2016. On March 7, 2017, an arrest warrant was issued for Bisram, who was in the US at the time. The warrant was issued on the allegation that Bisram instructed five other men – Harri Paul Parsram, Radesh Motie, Niran Yacoob, Diodath Datt and Orlando Dickie – to kill Narinedatt because the carpenter retaliated when Bisram made sexual advances to him.
In November 2018, he was extradited to Guyana after a US Appeal Court two months prior ordered his extradition after denying both a rehearing of his appeal and a motion to stay the extradition.
