Charter court wants more info on case against Srettha

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday ordered individuals and agencies involved in the case against Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to submit more evidence to the court within 15 days.

The court’s office did not elaborate on the order, only saying that the next hearing for this case has been scheduled for July 10.

A group of 40 senators had submitted a petition to the court asking for Srettha’s removal from office for allegedly violating the charter and ethical standards by appointing ex-lawyer Pichit Chuenban as PM’s Office minister in the last Cabinet reshuffle.

The senators alleged that Srettha had appointed Pichit despite knowing that he was once jailed for six months for allegedly trying to bribe Supreme Court officials and was thus not qualified as per the charter to become a minister.

The nine Constitutional Court judges reviewed the case on Tuesday after which they announced that to facilitate review, persons and government agencies involved must compile their views and submit evidence to court as required within 15 days.

The announcement did not elaborate on what additional documents were required from Srettha after he submitted his written defence to the court.

The written defence reportedly carries opinions and explanations from the Council of State and the Cabinet Secretariat, which is in charge of reviewing the qualifications of ministers. The defence was also reviewed by legal expert and former deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam, who is now an adviser to Srettha.