00:00the matter stems from 2019 where shanty nanan then 76 years old traveled to the united states
00:07to care for her ailing husband months later t t's covid-19 border closure left her stranded abroad
00:13when she finally returned home in january of 2021 the deadline to exchange the old 100
00:19cotton bank notes for the polymer notes had already passed she discovered ten thousand
00:25dollars in her personal effects money the central bank flatly refused to redeem sadly nanan passed
00:31away in 2024 but her family fought on taking the state to court via a constitutional motion
00:38they retained attorney at law and ram logan senior counsel to put forward their claim
00:43the state heavily resisted the lawsuit arguing that currency matters fall under national security
00:48and that nanan should have pursued standard judicial review however critical evidence uncovered during
00:54the proceedings blew the state's defense apart under the central bank act the minister of finance who
01:01was called member at the time holds the legal power to extend the deadline for citizens facing
01:06circumstances beyond their control but a freedom of information request revealed that between 2019
01:12and 2024 94 citizens in desperate situations had applied for this extension but not a single one was
01:21granted in a damning 35 page judgment handed down on june 12th justice davindra rampasad threw out
01:28the state's arguments the judge ruled that running a hardship mechanism behind a procedural vacuum have
01:35completely secret criteria strips away all due process rampasad stated quote a statutory power to relieve deserving
01:44cases operated as a settled and invariable refusal behind criteria that were never formulated much less
01:53published is not the exercise of a discretion at all it is precisely the species of arbitrariness which takes
02:00a complaint out of the ordinary run of administrative law and into the realm of the constitution end quote
02:08justice rambasad found that the state was guilty of breaching nanan's constitutional right to enjoyment of
02:14property and the protection of law the high court has ordered the attorney general to pay nanan's estate
02:19ten thousand dollars in compensatory damages the exact face value of her lost savings plus interest an
02:27additional thirty thousand dollars in vindicatory damages to publicly mark the gravity of the state's breach and to deter future
02:35administrative overreach legal commentators say the ruling sets a powerful precedent proving that even
02:41in times of national crisis the government cannot hide behind a veil of secrecy to deprive citizens of their
02:48fundamental rights nanan's case follows that of rihanna lorick and joanne pantin versus dhg pantin had applied
02:56for an individual travel exemption to return home but received only generic acknowledgements
03:02how can how can i continue i don't step outside from where i am i want to come home senior
03:15counsel ram
03:16logan warned that case on behalf of the litigants the court of appeal found that steward young acted
03:22in breach of their constitutional rights because he had not published any policy criteria or given any guidance
03:32regarding the process regarding the process to get a special permit from him to be able to return home
03:40he tells us many more people were affected through the demonetization of the 100 banknotes
03:45but were unaware that applications could have been filed to the minister of finance
03:50they will now be able to file cases and claims against the state to be able to vindicate their
03:57their constitutional rights i call upon finance minister dave tanku and prime minister the honorable
04:03kamala pasad bisesa to demonstrate some compassion and show some mercy to these aggrieved citizens the
04:11senior council asks that they be allowed to redeem the money for legitimate sources of income alicia boucher tv6 news
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