Judgment On MP Mosese Bulitavu Case On Notice

Speaker of Parliament, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum are no longer defendants in the case filed by SODELPA against Member of Parliament Mosese Bulitavu.

This is after SODELPA’s lawyer Romanu Vananalagi requested to withdraw the case against the Speaker and the Attorney-General stating that the matter was of minimal concern to them, during the hearing before Chief Justice Kamal Kumar the Fiji Court of Disputed Returns yesterday.

Chief Justice Kumar granted the request and ruled that the matter against the Speaker and the Attorney-General be struck out.

The judgement on whether SODELPA MP Mosese Bulitavu keeps or vacates his seat in the Fijian Parliament will be delivered on notice by this Friday.

SUBMISSIONS

In making his submission, Mr Bulitavu's lawyer Sushil Sharma who joined via zoom said that his client had not voted in support of the 2021-2022 National Budget and the Bill to amend the iTaukei Land Trust Act in Parliament.

Mr Sharma told the court that in his second affidavit, Mr Gavoka said that it cannot be ascertained as to how the vote was taken and if Mr Bulitavu supported Bill No 17 and the National Budget.

He said by doing this, SODELPA was just placing a hypothetical scenario in front of the court in order to find out if Bulitavu was for or against the two bills.

Mr Sharma applied that the matter be struck out with costs as the plaintiff had not identified that if the defendant had voted for or against the bills during parliament.

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