The Suva Magistrates Court has rejected the prosecution’s application to produce former Registrar of Political Parties Mohammed Saneem as a witness in the trial of former deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad.
Magistrate Yogesh Prasad, however, ruled that a certified true copy of the disputed document could be admitted into evidence.
Meanwhile, Magistrate Prasad has directed the prosecution to clarify the source of witness statements it intends to rely on in the trial.
Magistrate Prasad made the direction after defence lawyer Richard Naidu raised concerns about four witness statements disclosed during the trial, with two originating from an earlier investigation file and two from the current prosecution file.
Mr Naidu argued that if the prosecution intended to rely on material taken from another investigation file, it would have an obligation to disclose all relevant material from that file.
The Magistrate directed the relevant investigator to be present when the matter resumes at 2.30pm so the court could establish the facts surrounding the two files and the witness statements.
He said he did not want further submissions from parties at that stage without the necessary factual information.
The prosecution indicated it would proceed with the material already disclosed to the defence and that the investigator could be questioned during the trial if necessary.
