Environmental activist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh and his Highway Re-route Movement will have to wait another week before a judge gives his decision on an injunction to stop work at the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the Solomon Hochoy Highway extension. High Court judge James Aboud, who is also presiding over the group’s constitutional motion, was scheduled to give his decision on the injunction during a hearing at the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday.
Aboud had set the date after hearing final submissions from lawyers representing the group and the State on April 8. When reporters and some members of the group returned to court yesterday, they learned the case was not listed to be heard that day. They later learned Aboud’s court staff had contacted the lawyers on Monday afternoon to say his decision would now be given on May 7 at 2.30 pm.
The group sought the urgent injunction in early February. In support of the request, the group’s lead attorney, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, argued that the State had ramped up construction at the site in February. Russell Martineau, SC, who is heading the State’s legal team, objected to the application, saying work at the site had been going on since the group filed its lawsuit in 2012.
He also suggested that the injunction was unnecessary, as none of the group’s members listed in the lawsuit had been issued with acquisition notices for their properties, as the route of the highway had been adjusted to avoid them. Martineau also claimed if the injunction was granted it would cost the State significantly, as third-party agreements with the highway contractors already had been signed.
The State is also being represented by Senior Counsel Deborah Peake and attorneys Kelvin Ramkisson, Gerald Ramdeen and Shastri Roberts. Fyard Hosein, SC, and Rishi Dass are part of the group’s legal team.
