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C.N. Sharma, wife meet with President
Television station owner Chandra Narine Sharma and his wife, Savitri Singh, met with President Bharrat Jagdeo, yesterday, to offer a “suitable explanation” for his broadcast of a commentary by Anthony Vieira.
The meeting was in response to a letter from Office of the President informing C.N. Sharma and Savitri Singh of the need to report to President Jagdeo, failing which his television licence could be suspended or revoked.
Chandra Narine Sharma
The matter had engaged the attention of the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting but a High Court ruling has negated any involvement of the ACB in any matter.
Sharma said that he along with his wife met with the President yesterday.
According to Sharma, he gave his side of the story and a decision is expected to be made at a later date.
The television owner had moved to the High Court and had secured three injunctions granted blocking the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting from making any recommendations for the station’s television licence to be suspended.
Justice James Bovell-Drakes granted the pre-emptive injunction after the petition was put forward by the lawyer, Nigel Hughes.
Kaieteur News was told that the ACB had determined that Sharma’s license should be suspended for six months after the station had aired a commentary by Anthony Vieira which made some damning allegations against Chairman of the Ethnic Relations Commission, Bishop Juan Edghill, last month.
The television owner had apologised, but Edghill, nevertheless, filed a motion against both Sharma and Vieira seeking more than $50M in damages.
Lawyers for Edghill, Anil Nandlall, Euclin Gomes, and Manoj Narayan, in their motion had stated that the “Bishop” had suffered “tremendous embarrassment, distress and ridicule” by the commentary.
Hughes had explained that the first injunction was to prevent the ACB from making any recommendation to the Minister of Information, President Bharrat Jagdeo, in connection with the suspension of the television station licence.
The second injunction restrains Evan Persaud, Chairman of the ACB, and Norman Mc Lean, the other member, from making any decision on behalf of the ACB until the Opposition Leader would have submitted a name for his nominee to sit on the board, this making it fully constituted.
The third injunction blocks the ACB from making any recommendation that Sharma’s licence be suspended.
Sharma’s television station was shut down twice over the years, for various reasons.
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