The retrial of Naitasiri High Chief Ratu Inoke Takiveikata's inciting mutiny case will go ahead as the Supreme Court today rejected the States application to appeal the earlier ruling.

Supreme Court Judges Justice Keith Mason, Justice Kenneth Handley and Justice Ronald Sackville stated in their ruling that the State did not file any written submissions in support of its submissions, apparently because of an oversight.

The State had argued that the Court of Appeal had wrongly taken into account the question of the apprehended bias that the trial Judge, Justice Anthony Gates had when he reversed the assessors opinion that the accused was not guilty on three of the counts.

But the three Supreme Court Judges in their ruling say the issue of apprehended bias was a live one because the conclusions reached by Justice Gates were unfavorable to the accused.

The State had appealed against the ruling by the Fiji Court of Appeal for a re-trial of Ratu Inoke's inciting mutiny case. The Appeals Court quashed Ratu Inoke's life sentence handed down earlier by the High Court and ordered the re-trial.

A date for the re-trial of the case is expected to be set soon.