CCN TV6, its newscaster Samantha John and reporter Sasha Mohammed were yesterday referred to the Privileges Committee by House Speaker Barry Sinanan for alleged contempt of Parliament.

The alleged breach arose out of a report carried on TV6 News last Friday, on the Speaker’s ruling on the motion of privilege brought by Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar against Attorney General John Jeremie. In a comprehensive statement, Sinanan had detailed the reasons why there was no prima facie case of breach of privilege by Jeremie.

But Information Minister Neil Parsanlal said yesterday he was ’taken aback’ by the reporting on this matter by TV6. Parsanlal pointed out that the report claimed that Sinanan said Jeremie ’acted properly when he criticised the Judge’ and that Jeremie was ’within his rights to criticise the Judge’. This Sinanan never said, Parsanlal noted, adding that the report ’distorted’ Sinanan’s rulings and the proceedings.

Sinanan had in fact stated that one can criticise the judgement, but not the judge. Citing various authorities, Sinanan explained in detail how a judgement or a court could be criticised.

Quoting from the TV6 report, Parsanlal said Mohammed’s report stated that while ’several Opposition MPs have been referred to the Privileges Committee following complaints by Government members, the Opposition had not achieved the same success when its members sought to have Jeremie and Prime Minister Patrick Manning referred to the Privileges Committee for allegedly misleading the House’.

Parsanlal said the public records of the House show that only two ’not several’ Opposition MPs were referred to the Committee of Privileges, and that Mohammed ’quite strangely had either forgotten or deliberately failed to inform the public’ that Government is already before the committee for its alleged failure to allow the Opposition its Private Members’ day.

Parsanlal recalled Sinanan’s ’novel’ ruling in sending Government to the Committee of Privileges for its alleged failure to answer questions in a timely manner. He also recalled that Manning was also referred to the committee by Sinanan for allegedly prematurely disclosing the deliberations of a committee.

’The privileges and immunities of this House, its powers to protect the integrity of its processes and to demand fair and accurate reporting of its proceedings are critical ... We therefore view as a serious matter of contempt these gravely distorted reports of our proceedings and the subliminal attempt, Mr Speaker, to paint you as being biased in your rulings,’ Parsanlal said.

Sinanan said he viewed it as a serious matter because ’it affects Parliament (and its relations with) the judiciary’.

’I have read this carefully and I am disturbed by what has come out of it. And I have no hesitation whatsoever in referring this matter to the Committee of Privileges,’ he said, ruling on the matter immediately.