Ex-surgeon and wife sue State over search

A retired orthopaedic surgeon and his wife are suing the State for trespassing over an early morning search of their home by gardaí seeking to interview their son about a fatal road accident.

Dr Eshwarprasadh Kessopersadh, 74, and his wife Patricia, 67, claimed in the High Court that they suffered shock, distress, and embarrassment after three gardaí wrongfully entered their home to arrest their son Roshen, 32, for the purposes of making a statement about the accident.

The Kessopersadhs claim gardaí did not have reasonable cause or a warrant to search their home at Springfield Drive, Templeogue, on Aug 11, 2004.

They say they had previously told gardaí Roshen, who was 23 at the time, would be out of the country on holidays and that their son would only be making a statement about the accident in the presence of their solicitor, Noel O’Hanrahan.

They are suing the three officers, Sgt Geróid Keating, and Gardaí Desmond McNally and Gary Bigley, all of Terenure Garda Station, along with the justice minister, Ireland, and the Attorney General for damages for trespass and breach of their constitutional right to privacy and family home.

The defendants deny the claims and argue they were entitled to search the house as they were seeking to arrest Roshen at the time on suspicion of dangerous driving causing death. He was later charged with careless driving and acquitted in the district court.

The court heard the search arose out of a Garda probe into an accident the previous Mar 14 when pedestrian Laurence O’Neill died after he was knocked down by a car driven by Roshen on the Templeogue Road, just 600 yards from the Kessopersadhs’ home.

Opening the case yesterday, Michael Delaney SC, for the Kessopersadhs, said an expert report established Roshen was driving within the speed limit and that his view of Mr O’Neill was obscured by the shadow thrown by trees on the road and the fact the deceased was wearing dark clothes.

Blood tests on the deceased showed Mr O’Neill was intoxicated with a reading four times the legal driving limit, counsel said.

In the following months, there was contact between their solicitor and the gardaí who were told Roshen would not be making a statement, counsel said.

On Aug 11, a week after Roshen had left for New Zealand, the gardaí called to their home at 6.30am.

Dr Kessopersadh, who came to Ireland from South Africa 47 years ago, went to the door and told them Roshen was not there, counsel said.

Counsel said Dr Kessopersadh asked to see a warrant but gardaí said they did not need one and brushed past him and conducted the search.

Counsel said the crux of this case was whether the Garda had reasonable cause to believe the accident constituted an arrestable offence entitling them to enter the house without a warrant.

Under cross-examination by Colm Ó hOisín, for the defendants, Dr Kessopersadh agreed it was important that gardaí should take all reasonable measures available to them to complete an investigation into a serious matter like a fatal road accident.

He said, however, he took the advice of his solicitor who said Roshen should only make a statement to gardaí in his presence. Numerous efforts had been made by the solicitor to do so, he said.

The case continues.