Ajay Chattradhari Daby (अजय छट्रधारी द॓बी) is a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and the former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

from 1983 to 1990. He did his secondary schooling at the Royal College of Curepipe. Called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1978, Ajay Daby studied in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and is a member of The Honourable Society of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He is married to Geeta Prayag, a laureate of the Queen Elizabeth College and doctor from the

Sheffield University The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth College in 1879 ...

. Daby started his legal career as a private legal practitioner before joining the State Law Office as State

Prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

, but only for a very brief period. He soon resigned from his post in the Judiciary to join

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

. Elected MP of the PSM in 1982 in Flacq-Bon Acceuil, Constituency No 9 at the age of 26, he became the youngest MP in the country. He was further elected as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Mauritius. In 1983, he was one of the founder members of the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM). He was in the same year, re-elected MP of Flacq-Bon Acceuil under the banner of the newly created MSM and went on to become the youngest Speaker of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

and Association des Parlementaires de Langue Francaise (AIPLF). He was re-elected in Constituency No 11 (Rose-Belle/Vieux Grand Port) and was called upon to take the post of Speaker of the Legislative Assembly yet again. In 1990, on a question of principle, Daby refused to give the

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

much needed by the then government to change the status of Mauritius to that of a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

and sever ties with the

British Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

. He voiced his dissent with his leader and party on this question. The MSM - MMM newly formed coalition not having the required three-quarters majority to expel Mr Daby from his Speakership, went ahead to amend the Constitution to enable the removal of the Speaker by a simple majority. On 5 December 1990, the Constitution of Mauritius was amended accordingly. Mr Daby then joined the Mauritius Labour Party, but for a brief spell only. In 2001, Mr Daby was made Commissioner for Drug Assets Forfeiture under the Government led by Sir Anerood Jugnauth, and later by Paul Berenger, until 2005, when there was a change of government following

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

. Daby is back at the bar and is regularly seen in high-profile cases.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20081119162719/http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/eco/menuitem.37ba32a3c4783128d6c8662948a521ca/?content_id=9259e1aef2158010VgnVCM100000ca6a12acRCRD#Constituency%20No.%209%20-%20Flacq%20and%20Bon%20Accueil * https://web.archive.org/web/20081120075250/http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/mau1982results.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20081119111059/http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/AssemblySite/menuitem.3cd5596e88ffa0451251701065c521ca/?content_id=f7b608bf4b648010VgnVCM100000ca6a12acRCRD {{DEFAULTSORT:Daby, Ajay Speakers of the National Assembly (Mauritius) Members of the National Assembly (Mauritius) Mauritian Hindus Living people 1955 births Militant Socialist Movement politicians 20th-century Mauritian lawyers Mauritian politicians of Indian descent