High Court Judge Justice Thushara Rajasinghe has struck out Josaia Waqabaca's application for constitutional redress.
The application was filed by Waqabaca’s lawyer Aman Ravindra-Singh.
Waqabaca is charged with sedition in the Fiji Times Limited and others case where they are alleged to have made, or caused to be published, a seditious statement in the Nai Lalakai newspaper.
Singh had told the court that the article in question does not constitute hate speech and is within the provisions of the constitution under the freedom of speech, expression and publication.
The respondent, the Attorney General’s Office had filed a strike out application and their lawyer, Bhavna Narayan had submitted that the application be struck out as it discloses no reasonable cause of action, is scandalous, frivolous and is an abuse of the process of the court.
In his ruling, Justice Rajasinghe has stated that he does not find that the applicant has specifically stated as to how the rights of Waqabaca had been contravened or likely to be contravened under the constitution.
Justice Rajasinghe says this application also amounts to an abuse of the court process and he does not find it as an exceptional case under the Constitutional Redress Rules.
Waqabaca has been ordered to pay $1,000 as costs.
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