The High Court has ruled that the Fiji Corrections Service is guilty of false imprisonment for failing to release a prisoner in 2016. Deshwar Kishore Dutt took legal action against former Corrections Service supervisor Sakeasi Veviwili, former chief operating officer at Natabua Corrections facility Meli Taito, former Commissioner Francis Bulewa Kean, and the Attorney-General for not facilitating his timely release. Dutt was expected to be released on April 19, 2016, but remained incarcerated for an additional four months.
Justice Chaitanya Lakshman stated in his ruling, “The plaintiff had the legal right to be released, and the Corrections/defendants were under a clear and obvious legal duty owed directly to the plaintiff to release him on the due date.” He emphasized that once Dutt’s prison term expired, he had an absolute right to leave. The judge noted there was no justification for continuing to detain him beyond his 12-month term and that the defendants did not demonstrate they acted in good faith.
Dutt initially sought $180,000 in damages, which the judge deemed “unrealistic and disproportionate.” After considering various factors, the court awarded him $4,000 for the four months of wrongful imprisonment.