Lawyer calls on gov't to form RCI on allegations against judiciary

Lawyer Mohd Haniff Khatri Abdulla (above) has called on de facto law minister VK Liew and attorney-general Tommy Thomas not to delay in advising the government to form a special task force or royal commission of inquiry on complaints against the judiciary.

In a Facebook posting, the lawyer said the move was needed following the filing of an originating summons by the late Karpal Singh's daughter, lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo against the chief justice yesterday.

Haniff had previously revealed that a senior judge had directed a Court of Appeal bench to maintain the late Karpal Singh's guilty decision for sedition, but reduce the imposed fine from RM4,000 to RM1,800.

"A special task force or RCI should be formed so that the late Karpal's case can be resolved quickly," said Haniff in his post today, adding the move had to be taken to uplift the standing of the judiciary in the country.

Sangeet had filed her suit with regards to two matters, namely her late father's sedition case and the revelation by a Court of Appeal judge that he was reprimanded for making a dissenting judgement in the M Indira Gandhi case.

In the suit, Sangeet (below) sought several declarations, namely that a declaration that the CJ had failed to protect and defend the integrity of the judiciary with regards to her father's sedition case and the allegation made by the Court of Appeal judge.

She also seeks a declaration that she is entitled to have information regarding the internal probe conducted on the two cases as a person who had her rights affected and her expectation of an impartial judiciary free from interference.

She also wants a declaration that the CJ had failed in his constitutional and statutory duty to preserve the integrity of the judiciary with regards to the two matters listed.

Karpal was initially acquitted of sedition, but on appeal by the prosecution at the Court of Appeal, his defence was ordered and subsequently he was found guilty and fined RM4,000 by the High Court. This was in regards to his comments in 2009 on the Perak imbroglio.

The conviction was upheld by the appellate court in 2016, but the fine was reduced to RM1,800.

On the other matter, appellate court judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer revealed during a law conference last year that he was reprimanded by a senior judge for writing the dissenting judgment in the M Indira Gandhi (above) case.

As a result of the two revelations, Chief Justice Richard Malanjum promised to look into the matters last August, but sometime in November said he was suspending the internal inquiry pending a police probe. - Mkini