High Court Judge Justice Daniel Goundar will today give his judgment on the trial in relation to the former Nasinu Town Clerk Jaswant Kumar, who is charged with one count of abuse of office.

Justice Goundar made the decision last week after hearing a lengthy submission from the lawyer of the accuser’s lawyer Rajendra Chaudhry.

In making his submission, Chaudhry said that the High Court needed to take into account his client’s financial status, as well as his contribution to society before making any ruling.

Chaudhry argued that it would not be wise for the High Court to send his client to jail as he was the sole breadwinner for his wife and two kids and Kumar also looked after his two nieces as their father had died.

He also told the Court that his client was also paying off a housing loan as well as a mortgage and a car loan, which amounted to over $22,000 and if he was sent to jail then his family would be left on the streets.

Chaudhry then told the High Court that under the new Crimes Decree, the crime his client is charged with is labeled as a misdemeanor as it deals with a small amount of money and faces a maximum time of 3 years.

Chaudhry asked the court to give the accused a non-custodial sentence as Kumar was a person of good character and was a first offender, two reasons which carried weight when handing down judgment.

However, FICAC lawyer Laisa Lagilevu objected to the submissions made by Chaudhry saying that Kumar had benefitted from his alleged abuse of office and that the Nasinu Town Council had lost money amounting to $2,334.42.

Judge Goundar then informed the Court that he would take all arguments into consideration and make a final ruling today.