FINALLY RICHARD RESPONDS – ACTION WILL BE TAKEN IF WRONGDOING FOUND: CHIEF JUSTICE TO CARRY OUT INTERNAL INVESTIGATION ON CLAIMS OF MEDDLING BY TOP LEVEL JUDGES IN HIGH-PROFILE CASES

THE judiciary is conducting an internal investigation on allegations that senior judges had interfered in two high-profile cases – the unilateral conversion of M. Indira Gandhi’s children and the late MP Karpal Singh’s sedition trial.

Chief Justice Richard Malanjum in a statement today said he had taken note of the matter and an internal investigation is being conducted following media statements on both the cases.

The statement stated “the chief justice will take appropriate action once the results of the investigation are obtained”  .

Earlier this month, Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer claimed he was reprimanded by a top judge for writing a dissenting judgement two years ago in the case of the unilateral conversion of Indira’s children to Islam by their father.

A court of appeal judge has said that he was reprimanded by a senior judge for writing a dissenting judgement in the case of unilateral conversion of M. Indira Gandhi’s (pic) children. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, August 31, 2018.

Hamid had written, among others, that the conversion was illegal as the permission of the mother had not been obtained.

Hamid claimed as a result of his decision, he was never again assigned to hear cases of public interest and those related to the federal constitution.

In the second case, lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla claimed in a Facebook posting that a senior judge interfered with the outcome of Karpal’s sedition appeal in 2016.

Karpal’s daughter, Sangeet Kaur Deo, has since filed a police report following the Facebook posting.

Sangeet Kaur Deo (pic), daughter of the late Karpal Singh, has lodged a police report regarding allegations that a senior judge has interfered in Karpal’s sedition case. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, August 31, 2018.

Haniff said he was informed that an unnamed judge had meddled after the majority decision to allow Karpal’s appeal and acquit him of the charge.

Haniff was reported to have been questioned by police on his allegation.

News of the tampering stirred public interest leading to members of the legal fraternity as well as politicians calling for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) or tribunal.

Karpal’s son Ramkarpal Singh added to calls for an RCI saying that “anything less will never dispel the perception that the judiciary is seriously tainted, not even the clearance of the police in the event that same were to happen”.

In a statement today, the Bukit Gelugor MP said it was “shocking” that the judiciary has not yet responded to the allegations.

“With respect, any attempt by the judiciary or the said judges to do so now would certainly be construed as an obvious afterthought and would not be worth the paper on which it is written on,” he said.

– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/