East Ham street trader walks free after prosecution bungling
THE prosecution of an alleged illegal street trader had to be ditched despite SIX publicly-funded court hearings following a series of blunders by Stratford Magistrates Court and Newham Council.
The council took Ramesh Mudra, of Haldene Road, East Ham, to court over allegations he was trading without a licence in November 2009.
But after five adjournments, a council officer forgot to bring the file relating to the case to court, leading magistrates to kick the long-running prosecution into touch.
Despite the council spending even more taxpayers’ cash on a bid to resurrect the case - two High Court judges on Thursday drew a line under the whole gaffe-strewn affair.
Lord Justice Davis, sitting with Mr Justice Irwin, said: “A lot of time had expired and the magistrates had indicated that it would need to be dealt with on the next occasion, but the council did not have the papers and they only came through late.”
You may also want to watch:
Having lost the case, Newham is now likely to face heavy legal costs bills.
Most Read
- 1 Violent gang stuff sock in elderly woman's mouth and steal her jewellery
- 2 Council rents offices to ambulance service to save money
- 3 Our planet is in a terrible place
- 4 Covid vaccination hub opening in Westfield next week
- 5 Police release image after teenager stabbed in Forest Gate robbery
- 6 What a load of old rubbish: Fly-tippers keep charity staff out of building
- 7 Police appeal for help after woman raped in Beckton
- 8 NHS nurse assaulted at east London hospital
- 9 Arrests after girl, 16, falls onto tracks at King George V DLR
- 10 Arsenal's Women's Super League clash with West Ham postponed