The Fiji Law Society says the sacking of the Solicitor-General by the Government is 'in breach of the clear requirements of the Constitution of Fiji'.
Sacked: Sharvada Sharma. Photo: Fiji govt
Sharvada Sharma's employment was terminated last week following a complaint by the Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem in September.
Sharma was then suspended pending an investigation.
The Chief Justice Kamal Kumar had confirmed Sharma's suspension was related to a complaint filed with the Judicial Services Commission.
When asked if this was done on the advice of the commission, Justice Kumar replied 'yes'.
The Chief Justice, who did not want to comment on the nature of the complaint, said a tribunal would be set up to investigate the complaint against the solicitor-general.
But Sharma's lawyer, Richard Naidu of Munro Leys, said due process was not followed when his client was suspended without pay and then sacked.
Naidu said Sharma's termination by the outgoing President Major-General (Ret'd) Jioji Konrote on November 10 was "done without even the pretence of a hearing before an independent tribunal as the Constitution requires".
Naidu said Munro Leys had received instructions from Sharma to challenge in court "the farcical process" that led to his suspension without pay and later termination as Solicitor-General.
Meanwhile, the Fiji Law Society (FLS) said Sharma's dismissal was "in breach of the clear requirements of the Constitution of Fiji".
William Clarke. Photo: Supplied/Fiji Law Society
In a statement, FLS president William Clarke said Sharma's termination also brought into question the Judicial Services Commission's explicit confirmation that a tribunal would be appointed to investigate the allegations of misbehaviour made against the former solicitor-general.
Fiji's Attorney-General and Justice Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and the President's Office have not responded to a request for comment.
Preetika Priyadarshni Prasad has been appointed Acting Solicitor-General.
Former chief executive of Fiji's Bureau of Statistics Kemueli Naiqama was sacked in September after he published this year's household income and expenditure survey that showed three quarters of Fiji's poorest people are indigenous Fijians or i-Taukei.
It's the first time ethnicity has featured in data published in the annual survey.
Sayed-Khaiyum had then questioned the methodology used for the study and labelled it flawed.
"Poverty in Fiji is now measured by consumption including the food grown in a family backyard, and not just income," he said.
By exceeding the scope of data collection and ignoring fact-based methodology, the Government - Naiqama said - had breached the terms of his contract with the Ministry.
Under his employment contract, Naiqama would be paid all salary and accrued entitlements for the period up to 15 September, 2021.