K. N. Govind

Infobox Politician (general)
name= "'Kishore Nand Govind|

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title= Member of House of Representatives (Fiji)
North Central Indian National Constituency
term_start= 1972
term_end= 1977
predecessor=
successor= Surendra Prasad
title2= Mayor of Ba Town
term_start2= 1969
term_end2= 1975
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term_end3=
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title4=
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birth_place=
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party= Alliance Party
residence=
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profession= Lawyer, judge
religion= Hindu
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Kishore Nand Govind is a former Fiji Indian politician who at present is a judge of the High Court of Fiji. During his political career he was never afraid to speak out on issues that he believed affected his electorate.Fact|date=September 2008 After retiring from politics, he was made a judge of the Supreme Court (pre 1987 coup) of Fiji and during the tumultuous times between the coups of May and September 1987 he continued to deliver verdicts which maintained the independence of the judiciary. He was forced to leave Fiji in late 1987 but returned in 2001 to be reappointed a judge of the High Court, and in his decisions has shown himself to have taken into consideration the social impact before passing judgement.Fact|date=September 2008

Early life

Govind grew up in Ba where his father was a school teacher. After completing his secondary education, he went overseas to study law. He returned to Fiji, and after a short stint as a teacher, set up his law practice of Govind & Company in Ba town.

Politician

In 1968, when by-elections were held to fill vacancies created by the boycott of the Legislature by members of the National Federation Party (NFP) from the Legislative Council, he contested the Ba Indian Communal Constituency for the Alliance Party against R. D. Patel of the NFP. Although he lost by a greater margin than his Alliance predecessor in the last two elections (James Shankar Singh), the election established him as a well known Ba identity and in 1969 he was elected the Mayor of Ba town. [cite web |url=http://www.mishraprakash.com/page2.html |title= Mishra Prakash & Associates|accessdate=2007-07-06] He was mayor for two terms.

In the 1972 general election, he contested the North Central Indian National Seat (located in Ba) for the House of Representatives, and surprised his detractors by winning with a comfortable margin in a constituency with a large Indian population where the Indian dominated NFP was expected to do well. In Parliament he spoke out on issues affecting his constituents. He was the first Indian member of the House to make use of the privilege to speak in Hindi. (There was no interpreter and he translated his own speech into English). In 1975 when the leader of the Fijian Nationalist Party, Sakeasi Butadroka, moved a motion calling for the expulsion of the Indian community from Fiji, [cite book |last= Scarr|first=Deryck |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Fiji: A short history |year=1984 |publisher=George Allen & Unwin |location=Sydney, Australia | pages=pp. 171-172|isbn=0-86861-311-8] Govind first seconded the motion (so that debate could take place)then moved an amendment which recognised the contribution of the Indian community towards the development of Fiji.

He lost his seat in Parliament in the March 1977 elections and retired from politics.

Judge of Supreme Court of Fiji

In the early 1980s he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Fiji and soon distinguished himself by handing out judgements which showed his understanding of the social and cultural background of the defendants. After the coup of May 1987, he refused to be influenced by the military government of Sitiveni Rabuka and continued to deliver judgements sometimes critical of the government. When the second coup of 1987 took place on 25 September Govind, with another outspoken exaptraite judge was thrown into jail with common criminals. [cite book |last= Robertson|first=Robert |authorlink= |coauthors=Akosita Tamanisau |title=Fiji: Shattered coups|year=1988 |publisher=Pluto Press Australia Limited |location=Sydney, Australia |pages= p. 142|isbn=0-94913-825-8]

In Australia

To escape political prosecution, he left Fiji for Australia in late 1987. He practiced law in Sydney for a while before joining the New South Wales Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. He rose within the ranks of the organisation to become crown prosecutor. With a new constitution and fairer political climate in Fiji, he resigned his position on 31 January 2001 [cite web |url=http://www.odpp.nsw.gov.au/reports/annrep00-2001.pdf|title= Annual Report of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, NSW 2000 - 2001|accessdate=2007-07-06] and returned to Fiji.

Judge of High Court of Fiji

Govind was re-appointed as a judge of the High Court of the Republic of Fiji and continued his unique style of delivering judgements.

In November, 2002 Justice Govind said that there is nothing revolutionary in offering discounts in sentencing to criminals who plead guilty. Justice Kishore Govind made headlines when he told lawyers that there could be up to 25 percent discount in sentencing if their clients pleaded guilty. He says guilty pleas have been attracting lesser sentences already but he thought he would spell it out and make it generally known. Justice Govind said that there are a number of reasons why he thinks the discounting is a good move.

“It saves a complainant or a victim in cases like violence or rape the trauma of going to trial to giving evidence. Secondly, it save the state a lot of expense, calling witnesses, wastage of court time. So there are a lot of pluses attendant upon a plea of guilty and I think any person who pleads guilty should be rewarded for it.” [cite web |url=http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?id=2778&op=read|title= Fiji high court judge defends discounting in sentencing|accessdate=2007-07-06]

His rulings show liberal ideas of tackling drug problems. He criticised a magistrate for not granting a defendant, charged with possessing 59 grams of marijuana, bail and discharged on the condition that he not reoffend within 12 months because he was a single parent and looking after his six children, all of whom were in school. He said that "While many know the evil and social destruction the marijuana habits can do, the circumstances of this case invites the leniency of the court," . Justice Govind gave him a last chance saying he must rehabilitate himself and educate others not to take marijuana. "Go back and tell others how dangerous marijuana was and discourage them from smoking." He said that smoking marijuana was not a way to relieve pressure. and also told him that he was not showing a good example to his children.

In another case he also discharged a man found in possession of 50 grams of marijuana. He said that he was still young and had a long life ahead of him and his employer would not see the of marijuana but a conviction next to his name. He said that a conviction was disproportionate to his mitigation, where he said that he was living with his elderly parents and was supporting them as well.

"So I have wipe out it slate clean because your employer will not look at the convictions of drugs and not see the amount at all. I have given you a chance but don't abuse it and don't come back here. Go and educate your colleagues and friends of the evils of these drugs because it can destroy the whole country." [cite web |url=http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?ref=archive&id=65091 |title= Judge criticises drug rulings|accessdate=2007-07-06]

Supporter of football

Govind was a passionate supporter of the Ba football team. He was a member of the executive of the Ba Football Association and his legacy to football in Ba is the naming of the home ground of the team after him .i.e Govind Park.

References