Po­lit­i­cal and so­cial ac­tivist Ravi Bal­go­b­in Ma­haraj has failed in his bid to chal­lenge the de­ci­sion of for­mer House Speak­er Bridgid An­nisette-George to de­ny him per­mis­sion to re­spond to al­leged­ly defam­a­to­ry com­ments made about him in Par­lia­ment.

In a judg­ment de­liv­ered on Wednes­day, High Court Judge Joan Charles re­ject­ed Ma­haraj’s ju­di­cial re­view and con­sti­tu­tion­al claims.

Jus­tice Charles ruled that she did not have the ju­ris­dic­tion to re­view An­nisette-George’s de­ci­sion, as it fell un­der Par­lia­ment’s Stand­ing Or­ders.