PUTRAJAYA: The attorney-general (AG) has withdrawn his appeal to set aside an interim stay obtained by a senior judge who was asked to appear before the Judges’ Ethics Committee in relation to an affidavit and a judgment.
The AG has also filed a fresh application to overturn the stay, together with a certificate of urgency.
Senior federal counsel Mohd Sabri Othman told a three-member Court of Appeal bench that a notice of discontinuance was, however, not filed in the court registry.
He said the copy was only served on Joy Wilson Appukuttan, one of the counsel representing Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer. The notice could not be filed as Hamid’s legal team did not give their consent due to the “facts and circumstances of this case”.
Bench chairman Mohamad Zabidin Diah then struck out the AG’s appeal with no order to costs.
Another senior federal counsel, M Kogilambigai told the bench, also consisting of Abu Bakar Jais and Darryl Goon Siew Chye, that the AG has filed a fresh appeal to overturn the interim stay.
“We have also filed a certificate of urgency last week to have the matter heard soon,” she said.
The AG at the leave stage for judicial review can be heard in public interest cases although he is not a party named in an action.
Lawyer Bastian Pius Vendargon, also appearing for Hamid, informed the bench that a case management had been fixed today and the AG wanted the matter heard any time between Christmas and the new year.
“We are celebrating Christmas although the matter is of public importance. That is the reason the fresh application was accompanied with the certificate of urgency,” he said.
Zabidin said the court registry would obviously consult parties before fixing a date to hear the appeal.
“A panel will only be assembled once the registry fixes the date,” he added.
Abu Bakar asked Kogilambigai: “Are you insisting the appeal should be heard by this year?” She replied in the negative.
The appeal has now been fixed for Jan 14 after a case management before senior deputy registrar N Kanageswari.
On Nov 12, High Court judge Mariana Yahya allowed the interim stay of the proceedings before the committee until the outcome of the leave application for judicial review.
The Judges’ Ethics Committee was scheduled to sit on Nov 25.
Mariana, who heard the leave application on Dec 10, gave another interim stay pending her ruling on Jan 21.
Hamid is seeking to quash the committee’s decision to hold his inquiry through in-camera proceedings and also wanted a declaration that the charges against him were null and void.
At an international conference in Kuala Lumpur two years ago, Hamid had alleged that there had been judicial interference in several high-profile cases.
It led to a suit against the chief justice early last year by lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, accusing the top judge of failing to defend and preserve the integrity of the judiciary.
The committee then issued Hamid a show cause notice over the affidavit and a judgment in a drug case.
Hamid, among other things, had said in the judgment that the judiciary was expected to act as a check and balance on the executive and legislature, as provided for under the Federal Constitution.
On Sept 8, Hamid replied to the show cause notice, which sources told FMT was quite explosive, where the judge stood by the entire contents of the affidavit and also a 101-page judgment that he delivered in early June.