Judicial review: Illegal for City Corporation to hire people from San fernando only

High Court Judge Carol Gobin has ruled that the practice by the San Fernando City Corporation to give priority to employ people only within the jurisdiction of San Fernando is illegal. Justice Carol Gobin, sitting in the San Fernando High Court on Monday, also ruled that the practice amounts to inequality of treatment from a public authority in the exercise of its functions and is discriminatory. Justice Gobin gave the ruling in a judicial review case brought by Princes Town resident Nimchand Maharaj.

Maharaj who resides at Buen Intento, Princes Town, was first employed as a casual or non-permanent employee with the corporation between June 30 and September 13, 2005. In his lawsuit, filed by attorney Sunil Gopaul-Gosine, Maharaj claimed that following this period of employment, he was told by the acting Administration Officer II Keith Aaron that “no further gainful employment would be extended to him by the corporation since he lived outside of the jurisdiction of San Fernando.”

Maharaj challenged the legality of this policy on the grounds that it was unlawful and amounted to inequality of treatment from a public authority in the exercise of its function and/or is discriminatory. Justice Gobin ruled that the defendants did not attempt to show any justification for the differentiation in treatment of persons living within and outside of San Fernando. “In the absence even of an attempt to do so, I can only conclude that the policy is arbitrary, capricious and irrational,” she said. In the circumstances, the court declared that the policy was illegal and discriminatory. Justice Gobin also ordered the defendants to pay the claimant’s costs.