A man who was unlawfully jailed by a District Court judge earlier yesterday, despite being told by gardaí that he was the sole carer of his 13-year-old son, was freed by the High Court last night.
Mr Justice Peter Charleton ruled that Teodore Popa, a Romanian citizen, had been unlawfully deprived of his liberty when he was remanded in custody by Judge Murrough Connellan.
A solicitor for the DPP had earlier said they were conceding the point in the case and that gardaí had sought to assist the district judge by stating there was no objection to bail.
However, the DPP also sought that Mr Popa's constitutional challenge to the legality of his detention be converted to a bail hearing. Patrick J McCarthy SC, for Mr Popa, said he was seeking the release of his client.
Directing the release, Mr Justice Charleton said that while there might be arguments that bail laws should be more strict or that gardaí should object to bail in certain circumstances, no person should be simply deprived of their liberty in circumstances where no evidence was tendered to the effect that they met any of the three grounds necessary for refusing bail.
Regrettably, however, that was what had happened here, the judge said. In those circumstances, he was ordering the release of Mr Popa.
Mr Popa will appear before the District Court again on Monday in relation to a charge of stealing a computer.
