PUTRAJAYA: An appellate court has vacated the hearing of the attorney-general’s application 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.
Lawyer Joy Wilson Appukuttan, a co-counsel representing Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer, said the hearing scheduled tomorrow was taken off the list due to the partial nationwide lockdown.
“One of our lawyers is from Kuantan while another two are in the Klang Valley. We cannot have a virtual hearing while being separated,” he told FMT after a case management.
Joy said the Court of Appeal registry would inform parties of a new hearing date.
Senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambali represented the AG.
On Nov 12, High Court judge Mariana Yahya allowed Hamid’s application for the interim stay of the proceedings before the committee until the outcome of the leave application for judicial review.
Mariana, who heard the leave application on Dec 10, gave another interim stay pending her ruling on Jan 21.
During the leave stage for judicial review, the AG can be heard in public interest cases although he is not a party named in an action.
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.
In 2018, Hamid had alleged that there had been judicial interference in several high-profile cases.
It led to a suit against the chief justice in 2019 by lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, accusing the top judge of failing to defend and preserve the integrity of the judiciary.
The committee last August 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.
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