The State Prosecution has been granted an additional day to finalize its submissions regarding the bail variation application made by former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. Sayed-Khaiyum is seeking court approval to travel abroad for a medical evaluation and appeared before Magistrate Sufia Hamza at the Suva Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
During the proceedings, State Prosecutor Unaisi Ratukalou informed the court that more time was needed as they had recently consulted two urologists who would provide insights into local medical procedures relevant to Sayed-Khaiyum’s case. In response, defense attorney Devanesh Sharma pointed out that the State had already been given time to prepare for similar reasons as long as two months ago, on July 15.
Sharma raised concerns about the State’s approach in obtaining affidavits for their submissions, emphasizing that the matter was urgent and that the repeated delays were unacceptable. Previously, it had been indicated that the State would present the investigation officer as a witness during the current session.
Magistrate Hamza expressed disappointment with the State’s request, indicating that it was causing unnecessary delays for the defense. She noted that the defense would require time to respond to any new affidavit submitted by the State.
The court instructed the State to file their submissions by the end of the business day yesterday, with a follow-up session scheduled for 12 PM today to continue the bail hearing. This follows the resolution of a related substantive matter before Magistrate Yogesh Prasad, which took place at 11:30 PM.