The Court of Appeal has deferred the hearing of convicted rapist Sanjeet Singh’s sentence appeal after two failed attempts to have him produced in court — including one instance where the wrong prisoner with the same name was brought before the judges.
Singh, who was convicted of rape and sexual assault in July 2020 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole term of 43 years and 11 months, had earlier been granted leave to appeal his sentence.
The appeal was initially scheduled to be heard in Ba on 10 November 2025. While lawyers for both sides were present, Singh was not — later discovered to have been transported to the Court of Appeal in Suva instead of Ba.
The matter was adjourned to 18 November 2025 in Suva. But when the case was called again, Singh was still not produced. Instead, court officials brought another inmate with the same name, prompting further delays.
Adding to the complications, Singh’s Legal Aid lawyers informed the court that the appellant had, the day before, instructed them that he now wishes to appeal against his conviction as well as his sentence.
The Court of Appeal — Justices Alipate Qetaki, Justice Madam Andrews, and Justice Andrée Wiltens — noted that Singh must first apply for leave to appeal his conviction.
Because of this new development and the repeated production errors by prison authorities, the court ruled that it was no longer appropriate to proceed with the sentence-only appeal during the current session.
The judges have deferred the appeal until Singh’s application for leave to challenge his conviction is determined.
