Deepak wants to retract consent order given to PI Bala’s widow

Carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishan makes a U-turn when he informs a judge that he will file an applicaton to set aside a consent order that allows the widow of a key witness in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial to restore her RM2 million suit. – The Malaysian Insider pic, October 15, 2015.

Carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishan today made a U-turn when he informed a judge that he will file an applicaton to set aside a consent order that allowed the widow of a key witness in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial to restore her RM2 million suit.

Lawyer Americk Sidhu, who represented A. Santamil Selvi, said he protested before Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif, adding that Deepak could not file such application since the court order was valid.

"I told the judge that the Court of Appeal bench that decided the matter is functus officio and could not rehear the case," he told The Malaysian Insider after a case managment.

The lawyer also said only his client and Deepak were parties to the action.

However, Raus fixed the matter before the same bench on October 21.

Deepak was present and represented by lawyer Abdullah Khubayb.

Also present was lawyer Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun, who represented Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Lawyer Rishwant Singh, who wrote a complaint letter to Raus last week, appeared for senior lawyer Tan Sri Cecil Abraham, his son Sunil and commissioner of oaths Zainal Abidin Muhayat.
 
Rishwant in the letter said the October 2 order was defective in law and was tantamount to reversing the High Court ruling last December to strike out Santamil’s suit against Najib Razak, Rosmah and seven others.

Deepak declined comment when The Malaysian Insider approached him.

In June last year, Santamil filed the suit on behalf of the estate of P. Balasubramaniam who died of a heart attack on March 15, 2013 soon after his return from overseas.

That suit would expose the roles of several people in sending Santamil’s family into exile following controversies surrounding two statutory declarations made by Balasubramaniam involving Altantuya and Najib.

This also included why Balasubramaniam was forced to retract his first sworn statement highlighting Najib’s involvement with Altantuya, and why Balasubramaniam and his family were forced to leave the country in 2008 for almost five years.

In December, High Court judge Datuk Hasnah Mohamed Hashim allowed an application by Najib, Rosmah, the prime minister’s brothers Datuk Johari and Datuk Nazim, Cecil, Sunil, Zainal Abidin and lawyer M. Arulampalam to strike out the widow’s suit.

Hasnah said Santamil lacked the capacity to file for action on behalf of her husband’s estate and her pleadings were not according to law.

The Court of Appeal in April this year upheld the High Court decision on the grounds that Santamil’s notice of appeal was defective.

However, Deepak was not a respondent in Santamil’s appeal in the Court of Appeal.

Deepak had said he was not a voluntary party to strike out Santamil’s suit in the High Court.

In the suit, the family said the defendants, including Deepak, had caused Balasubramaniam’s second statutory declaration to be drafted without instructions from him and further caused him to sign it “under threat and inducement”.

Balasubramaniam and his family left Malaysia after he signed the second statutory declaration in 2008 to denounce the first one he made.

The second statement purported to clear the prime minister of involvement in the case.

Cecil was referred before the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary committee for professional misconduct over the drafting of the second statutory declaration.

- TMI