Mohan Burhan sworn in as Supreme Court judge |13 February 2014

President James Michel has again sworn Mohan Niranjit Burhan as Supreme Court judge, bringing the number of judges in the country to seven, among whom four are Seychellois.

The swearing-in ceremony during which judge Burhan took the oath of allegiance and judicial oath prior to taking up his office in accordance with Article 135 of the Constitution was held yesterday morning at State House in the presence of Speaker of the National Assembly Speaker Dr Patrick Herminie, Chief Justice Fredrick Egonda-Ntende, President of the Court of Appeal Justice Francis McGregor, Attorney General Rony Govinden, judges and justices of appeal, members of the Constitutional Appointments Authority and other distinguished guests.

Justice Burhan is not new to the Seychelles judiciary, having previously served the Judiciary of Seychelles in the capacities of both magistrate and judge.

Born in Sri Lanka in 1957, he graduated from the Sri Lanka Law College and also holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Wales in the United Kingdom.

Justice Burhan, who started work as an Attorney at Law in various districts of Sri Lanka and later served as magistrate, district judge and High Court judge in Sri Lanka, worked in Seychelles as magistrate between 1996 and 2000 before returning to pursue his career further in Sri Lanka as a High Court judge handling  two provinces.

In 2008 he retired prematurely as High Court judge in Sri Lanka as he was lured back to Seychelles and was appointed as an expatriate Judge of the Supreme Court of Seychelles for a five-year period.  

Judge Burhan served with devotion and made a significant contribution to the development of the judiciary and had been made the head of the criminal division of the Supreme Court of Seychelles.
 
He was strongly recommended by the judiciary for a second expatriate contract, in exceptional circumstances, as provided for under the Constitution of Seychelles.
 
After applying for and successfully obtaining citizenship of Seychelles on November 26, 2013, judge Burhan was recommended by the Constitutional Appointments Authority for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court as a citizen of Seychelles.  

Speaking to the media at the end of the ceremony, Judge Burhan said:

“I’m no stranger to the Republic of Seychelles as I came here as far back as 1996 and I have worked in all the courts here as a magistrate in Victoria, Anse Royale, Praslin and La Digue. I have also worked at the Supreme Court in Victoria and the new one at Ile du Port. I’ve also served on occasions as a justice of the Court of Appeal. I have experience in virtually all courts in Seychelles.”

He noted that he is happy he has been able to achieve all the targets set out by the Chief Justice.
 
“We have worked hard enough to clear the backlog of cases in my court. I’m happy to say that when I came we had cases dating as far back as 1999 and now we have reached cases dating year 2010. This is good progress. I have also given several constitutional judgments which have been recognised by the Court of Appeal and by other jurisdictions,” said Judge Burhan.

Asked what prompted him to apply for citizenship of Seychelles, Judge Burhan answered: “I have been serving Seychelles for so long and I intend serving the country for many more years because of my experience. I have some more years’ service to give to Seychelles and this is why I decided to apply for citizen of Seychelles as that would make it easier for me to contribute to the judiciary as I would not need to apply again to become a judge here.”