A former executive of the University of the South Pacific has lost his appeal in the High Court which ruled he had “no cause of action”.
Hasmukh Lal, the former CEO of South Pacific Technical and Further Education (TAFE), has lost his appeal against an earlier ruling that struck out his case over what he claimed was the leak of a confidential university report that contained allegations against him and others.
Mr Lal claimed he suffered reputational harm when the President of Nauru, also Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific, tabled part of a forensic report, which contained the allegations, in Nauru’s Parliament in 2021.
He had asked the court for a declaration that USP breached its code of conduct, along with damages and legal costs.
However, in a judgment delivered on July 9, Justice Penijamini Lomaloma found Mr Lal had no cause of action.
“The university is not a natural person and cannot act except through an employee or agent,” he said.
Justice Lomaloma found that no USP employee or authorised agent was responsible for the release, and the council had expressly protected the report’s confidentiality.
“There is, therefore, no direct liability of the defendant university …. All the other arguments advanced … are therefore irrelevant, and the appeal should be dismissed,” he said on July 9.
Mr Lal’s appeal was dismissed with $1000 in costs.
