00:00For more than a decade, a criminal allegation against police officer Steve Sahadew has remained unresolved.
00:07Sahadew was charged with misbehavior in public office over an alleged offense said to have occurred in November 2011.
00:16He was eventually committed to stand trial in 2019.
00:20But according to his judicial review application, no indictment has been filed,
00:25no proceedings have been discontinued and no trial date has been set.
00:30The application challenges the failure of the Director of Public Prosecutions to decide whether to indict Sahadew or discontinue the
00:39proceedings.
00:40High Court Judge Frank Sipisad has now granted him leave to pursue that judicial review.
00:46Sipisad said, quote,
01:02But the ruling does not determine that the DPP acted unlawfully.
01:08Sipisad says the court will ultimately have to assess whether the delay since Sahadew's 2019 committal is legally unreasonable
01:17and notes that the DPP's office has not yet been heard.
01:22The court nevertheless makes its position, saying, quote,
01:26Delay within the justice system cannot simply become normalized, end quote.
01:31The judge says while the court recognizes the demands placed on prosecutorial and other public institutions,
01:38those pressures cannot turn prolonged inaction into an acceptable feature of the justice system.
01:46Sipisad said, quote,
01:47Justice requires fairness, but it also requires movement towards resolution, end quote.
01:52The court also points to the wider public interest.
01:55Sahadew is a serving police officer and the allegations against him concern alleged misconduct by a person entrusted with public
02:04authority.
02:05The judge said, quote,
02:06The public has an interest in seeing credible allegations against public officers properly prosecuted,
02:12but it has an equally important interest in ensuring that such allegations are determined within a reasonable time, end quote.
02:21Sahadew's application says he has remained suspended on three-quarter of his pay since November 2016.
02:29It also says the unresolved proceedings have affected his ability to obtain a firearm license and travel documentation, among other
02:37consequences.
02:39Justice Sipisad says, quote,
02:40Neither the prosecution nor an accused person is served by indefinite uncertainty, end quote.
02:47And the court hopes the matter can be resolved before the substantive judicial review hearing.
02:52The granting of leave now gives the parties an opportunity to address the underlying issue before the substantive hearing,
02:59including whether the DPP will finally make a decision on the way forward.
03:04Our Vashita Wari Ruknarein, TV6 News.
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