The Magistrates Court in Nadi has struck out a civil lawsuit filed by Vinod Kamal against the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney-General of Fiji, ruling that the claim failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action in law.
Mr. Kamal had sought $10,000 in general damages, along with exemplary and punitive damages, over a 2017 break in at his home.
He alleged that police negligence and mishandling of the case, including a missing case file that led to the acquittal of the accused.
He claimed this amounted to a breach of legal and fiduciary duty.
But in his ruling on August 8, Resident Magistrate Setavana Saumatua found the claim to be legally unsustainable, referencing established case law that police and prosecutors do not generally owe a private duty of care to individuals in relation to criminal investigations or prosecutions.
The Court ruled the police and prosecutors are immune from civil liability for decisions made in the course of their duties, unless malice or abuse of process is proven.
“The Plaintiff has not pleaded any such relationship, nor does one arise on the facts,” the ruling stated.
“The law does not recognise a tort of ‘failure to secure a conviction.’”