On 8 September 2005, Justice Gerard Winter declared that Raj and Pal had no case to answer and dismissed the charges. Winter ruled that there was no legal obligation for Cabinet Ministers to travel business class, and that payment for Raj's trips were paid by the Fijian government, through the Indian government; at no time had Raj himself obtained any money illegally or dishonestly. Winter said that Raj had acted transparently and had hidden nothing. The fact that he had voluntarily resigned from the Cabinet and paid back the money he allegedly owed showed him to be a man of honesty and integrity, Winter said.