Pravind Jugnauth’s future hanging by Appeal Court decision

The Appeal Bench of the Supreme Court, comprising of Chief Justice Kheshoe Parsad Matadeen and Justice Ashraf Caunhye, has this week heard submissions regarding the appeal lodged by Pravind Jugnauth. The latter was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment by the Intermediate Court following the guilty verdict handed out against him on a charge of conflict of interest. The case concerns the acquisition of the MedPoint clinic, in which his sister is a shareholder, by the government while he was Finance Minister. Pravind Jugnauth’s political future now hangs by a thread now that the two-day hearing of his appeal are over. The Appeal Bench heard submissions on Tuesday and Wednesday regarding this case which might decide on the political future of Mr Jugnauth who was widely expected, according to the rumour mill, to step into his dad’s shoes as Prime Minister of the country sometime last year. However, the previous guilty verdict handed out on June 30, 2015, put a rather unannounced stop to his ambitions. Prompting questions as to who would succeed Sir Anerood Jugnauth as head of government. Criminal Intent Pravind Jugnauth has appealed against the Court decision and called upon the services of British hotshot lawyer Clare Montgomery, Queen’s Counsel, to take up his defence. Mr Jugnauth, who is leader of the governing majority party MSM, appeared in Court on Tuesday January 12. Elected members of his party as well as ministers were present to show him their support. Outside the Supreme Court premises in Port Louis, security was tight with barricades being erected by the police to control sympathisers during the two-day hearing. Sign that lessons have somewhat been learned during the June hearings. Clare Montgomery claims the Court should have considered whether her client had any criminal intent (mens rea) as it constitutes an element of the charge of conflict of interest under POCA. However, the Intermediate Court ruled that the mens rea of Pravind Jugnauth was immaterial given the offence was one of strict liability. For the defence lawyer, the Court should have taken into consideration whether there was any criminal intent. If not, justice would be denied and there is a serious risk of condemning a “totally innocent” person. On Tuesday, Ms Montgomery submitted that her client did not participate in the decision making process for the acquisition of the clinic which belonged to his brother-in-law, Dr Malhotra who is married to Shalinee Jugnauth. She claims the decision had already been taken by the Ministerial Cabinet to acquire the clinic and her client only signed the cheque for the disbursement of funds – a rubberstamp decision – given he was Finance Minister at that time. “The signature of the applicant was only about the source of funds. From which pocket the money would be paid from.” This is the main point which is being reproached to Mr Jugnauth by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Fair Trial ICAC claims that by partaking in the decision, Mr Jugnauth was in conflict of interest and as such, is guilty under POCA. Ms Montgomery stated: “All truly criminal cases require mens rea to be proved.” Regarding the question of interest, she claims her client had no personal interest in the case and that ICAC was unable to demonstrate the nature of the interest which Mrs Shalinee Jugnauth benefitted from. “The decision is not merely about the reallocation of Rs 144.7 million. There is an absence of evidence relating to the financial benefits obtained by Pravind Jugnauth’s sister in relation to the acquisition of MedPoint clinic by the State. ICAC had to prove that the transaction did bring gains.” Rebuking the arguments of the defence, ICAC lawyer Atish Roopchand said that the reallocation of funds constitutes the main element of the charge laid against Mr Jugnauth and for which he was found guilty. His colleague Homanaaden Ponen submitted that the accused benefited from a fair trial even though ICAC is not in possession of the Cabinet Memo 250, which the defence claims is essential in proving to the case. Taking over submissions for the prosecution, the Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Rashid Ahmine, stated that Mauritian law is inspired from French jurisprudence. “There might be a conflict of interest even if no unlawful act has been committed.” On Wednesday, Senior Assitant DPP Rashid Ahmine stated that the decision taken by Pravind Jugnauth to allocate Rs 144.7 million was more than a rubberstamp decision but rather an important step which led to the payment of Rs 144.7 million to MedPoint. “Apellant had many reasons to refuse what was asked of him,” he stated. Mr Ahmine said that the accused could have delegated his powers to the Financial Secretary but he did not do so. Prosecution Steps in Regarding the point raised by the defence as to the question of mens rea concerning with the conflict of interest charge under POCA, Mr Ahmine said that the onus of proving the guilty charge did not rest on the prosecution. “The offence is committed merely by taking part in any proceedings.” The Senior Assistant DPP also asked for the adoption of a broad definition of the word “interest” under POCA. “Otherwise it would defeat the purpose of the law,” he added. For him, Pravind Jugnauth should have abstained from approving the payment as he knew that his sister had interests in the MedPoint clinic. This abstention should apply at all levels. Mr Ahmine added that the law makes no distinction between steps of a transaction. According to the law, no public officer can take part in a decision which could favour a certain persons. This prohibition is “absolute”, stated the representative of the DPP, before asking whether Mr Jugnauth understood the extent of his action by signing the said document. “Did the minister think about the consequences of his approval? We are not talking about a sum of Rs 100,000 but about a huge sum of money, Rs 144.7 million.” Following submissions from both sides, the Appeal Bench has reserved its decision which would be given at a later date. This trial is of crucial importance for Pravind Jugnauth as his political ambitions of succeeding to his father Sir Anerood Jugnauth as Prime Minister, rests upon the outcome of his appeal. Following his initial conviction by the Intermediate Court, he resigned as ICT Minister and had to put his ambitions at bay. The MedPoint clinic was purchased in 2010, following the general elections at a time when the MSM, which he heads, was in coalition with the Labour Party under the Primeministership of Navin Ramgoolam. The coalition split up following the ICAC enquiry on the MedPoint acquisition.