The High Court has ordered that an Order Nisi of Prohibition be directed to the Public Service Commission to show why a Writ of Prohibition should not be issued against commission member Cecil Seepersaud.
According to court documents seen by this newspaper, Chief Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards on July 18 ordered that an Order Nisi of prohibition be granted directed to the Commissioner of the Public Service Commission, based on an application made by Gregory Mentore.
In 2010, Seepersaud was appointed to the Commission after the ninth report of the Committee of Appointments dealing with the matter was adopted. Currently, he is the Head of the Agriculture Project Cycle Unit.
The Order Nisi of Prohibition is asking the Commission to show cause why a Writ of Prohibition ought not to be issued prohibiting Cecil Seepersaud from functioning as member of the Commission. “And it is further ordered that an Order Nisi of Quo Warranto be and is hereby granted directed to Cecil Seepersaud to show by what authority he has entered upon and discharged the functions of a member of the Public Service Commission for the reason that the said appointment is ultra vires, null and void.”
Meanwhile, Mentore told this newspaper, “This is a clear violation of the Constitution which states that if you are a public servant you cannot be a member of the Public Service Commission…You can’t be paid by the public treasury two times,” the man said.
Additionally, in a memorandum, the Chief Justice also stated that if the two named respondents (the Chairman of the commission and Seepersaud) neglect to obey the court order they, “will be liable to process of execution for the purpose of compelling you to obey the said order.”
