Shock and disbelief struck both the legal and political fronts last Friday. Devendranath Hurnam, ruling party Mouvement militant mauricien (MMM) MP and formidable barrister notorious for terrorizing opposing witnesses and junior barristers, was arrested following shocking allegations by notary Deelchand?s former bodyguard and driver, Antoine Chetty. The arrest also came just a week after Dev Hurnam held a ?gathering of truth? following a quashed judgment that allowed him to walk free from a six month prison sentence.

In the course of his revelations, Antoine Chetty named MMM member Hurnam as having contracted him to cut off Senior Puisne Judge Bernard Sik Yuen?s hand and to assassinate Chief Inspector Goorah of the Southern Criminal Investigation Division.

Rumours of those allegations became public late last Wednesday, which led the parliamentary barrister to react and make light of those allegations. Hurnam has so far been constant in his reaction - he says he is the victim of a conspiracy because of public allegations of misdemeanour he has made against some members of the judiciary.

Dev Hurnam gave himself in at Line Barracks early Friday morning while the police were busy looking for him at his residence in Malherbe Street, Curepipe. The MP has admitted he knows Antoine Chetty, as he defended him in a drug related case a couple of years ago, and says that was the end of the relationship.

Deelchand?s driver, on the other hand, has a totally different story. He alleges having been contacted by Dev Hurnam to get on the same plane as the Senior Puisne Judge to Rodrigues. Once there, Chetty was to cut off the judge?s hand?to teach him a lesson.? He says he was expressly asked not to kill the SPJ. ?Get rid of his hand so he can?t write anymore,? the barrister supposedly told Antoine Chetty.

There has not been any love lost between the barrister and the SPJ for a few years now. Hurnam alleges that the judge has constantly victimized him to the point of losing all his cases when the SPJ was the sitting judge. Bernard Sik Yuen has never directly reacted to any of those allegations.

Hayman Dass Goorah was also, according to Chetty, on Hurnam?s hit list. Chetty was instructed to kill the former, who was allegedly a hindrance in the Grand-Bois hold-up case of 2000. The Chief inspector is said to have alleged that Hurnam helped to forge a alibi for his client. The consequence was that Hurnam was sentenced to a six-month prison term, a sentence that was subsequently quashed.

Meanwhile, the MMM has reacted after a hastily organized meeting of its political bureau. The rebel lawyer has been temporarily suspended from the ruling political party pending the court judgment. The favourite phrase of politicians when such matters arise has also been heard a few times. ?We will let justice take its course but it pays to remember than one is presumed innocent until found guilty by a court of law.?

?This latest case could bring with it more than a fair share of trouble. Mauritius being what it is, with its peculiar sensitivities, the implications for the country of a possible Hurnam conviction in the present juncture could be more than we ever bargained for.?

Caution is the order of the day in the MMM camp, as highlighted by barrister MP Collendavelloo?s decision to withdraw from Dev Hurnam?s counsel team.

The MMM?s partner the MSM has been equally cautious in its reaction, having also decided to let ?justice take its course.? In the meantime, Dev Hurnam has communicated to the press his decision to sit as an independent MP following his party?s decision to suspend him.

Should the MMM be feeling relieved yet? Only time will tell. If Hurnam were to resign from Parliament as the Labour party is insisting that he does, it could mean yet another by-election - in Triolet-Pamplemousses this time. The last one and its subsequent implications would indicate that the MMM is not too keen on going for another by- election so soon after last December?s, with the perception that the government, especially the MMM, is losing popularity in the North.

The Mauritius Bar Council, the regulatory body for the legal profession, has also reacted albeit in a subdued manner. The Council chairman, Sanjay Bhuckory, has asked for more power to start taking action against those ?unruly? lawyers.

By and large, everyone in the profession has agreed to ?let justice run its course.? The consensus is, however, also to act against those causing harm to the reputation of the legal world by their behaviour.

SPJ Sik Yuen has also showed a lot of reluctance to react to the news of Hurnam?s arrest, which occurred, ironically enough, on the day the Bar Council was organizing a conference on legal ethics. ?I?m still alive?, replied the judge when asked for a reaction.

Meanwhile, the controversial barrister is fighting on. His lawyers have asked for bail, which the police objected to last Friday. Hurnam subsequently felt unwell and had to be taken to hospital for treatment.

Dev Hurnam has expressed his wish to attend today?s parliamentary session to question the prime minister on the way the Chetty inquiry is being handled. It is most probable that permission will not be granted for want of time but the question remains: How long will bail be denied and what will be the outcome of all of this?

It is also hoped that the allegations the MP is making against members of the judiciary are taken into account and properly investigated, as the other consensus in the legal field is that ?Hurnam is saying out loud what most of us are thinking.?

Aged 57, Dev Hurnam has always rebelled against what he perceives as the inequalities and injustices of life. In his recent ?gathering of truth?, held in true Hurnam style, the barrister repeatedly said, ? injustices make me wild.? Not known to be particularly tactful, the loud and foul-mouthed lawyer MP is also said to ?hold his heart in his hand.? Generous to a fault, Dev Hurnam, like his friend and mentor Gaëtan Duval, feels misunderstood and believes his role is to save the world. Dressed in his constant ?dandy? style, Dev Hurnam has also been said to be a constant embarrassment to his political party and leader. In a world where appearance and decorum are of the utmost importance, Mr Hurnam clearly disturbs.

<B>This latest case could bring with it more than a fair share of trouble. Mauritius being what it is, with its peculiar sensitivities, the implications for the country of a possible Hurnam conviction in the present juncture could be more than we ever bargained for.</B>