Chief Magistrate vows court won’t be rushed

September 9 2026

Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman made it clear on Thursday that the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court will dictate the tempo of the extradition committal proceedings involving businessman Nazar Mohamed and his son, Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, pushing back against prosecution complaints regarding delays.

“This court will not be controlled by any mortal being, inside this court or outside; this court will control its own pace,” Magistrate Latchman declared. Addressing the friction over the duration of the matter, she added, “Justice delayed is justice denied, but also rushed justice is crushed justice.” The stern warning from the bench followed an exchange over the cross-examination of Senior Superintendent Prem Narine.

The proceedings had resumed to address a point of law after both sides submitted written arguments. The defence had been questioning Senior Superintendent Narine to explore whether political motives played a role in the extradition request.

However, defence attorney Siand Dhurjon informed the court that, despite lodging over 300 pages of written submissions, the defence wished to withdraw the specific line of questioning to approach the issue from a different perspective.

Prosecutor Glen Hanoman strongly objected to the withdrawal, branding the manoeuvre an abuse of the court’s process given the extensive time already spent arguing the point.

Hanoman has repeatedly raised concerns over the speed of the hearing, arguing that several questions remain irrelevant to the core extradition threshold. The defence maintained that its questioning is critical to testing the evidence and substantiating its claim that the extradition effort is politically driven.

The committal proceedings have now spanned over 10 months, with substantive hearings running since January 2026.