Apex Court sets aside the late Karpal's sedition conviction

The late lawmaker Karpal Singh was granted an acquittal by the Federal Court today in the former’s long-running sedition case concerning statements made concerning the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis.

In a unanimous decision, the seven-member panel today overturned the High Court’s initial guilty verdict and the Court of Appeal’s later decision to uphold the sedition conviction.

According to The Malay Mail, Chief Judge of Malaya Zaharah Ibrahim said there has been “substantial miscarriage of justice” in regard to the lower courts’ decisions.

“In the circumstances of this case, we are of the view that the failure is a serious misdirection and had occasioned a substantial miscarriage of justice which is not curable under the proviso to Section 92(1) of the Courts of Judicature Act.

“Consequently, we allow both appeals against conviction and sentence and set aside the conviction and sentence against the appellant,” Zaharah was quoted saying.

Karpal was charged over his statement made at a press conference where he said the late Perak sultan’s decision to remove then-Pakatan Rakyat's Perak Menteri Besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin could be challenged in a court of law.

The late Bukit Gelugor MP perished in a car crash back in 2014, just over a month after his initial conviction by the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

He was fined RM4,000. Although the Court of Appeal upheld the verdict in 2016, it reduced the fine to RM1,800 and thereby reversing his disqualification as an MP.

Karpal’s kin including his widow, Gurmit, later filed for an appeal at the Federal Court.

Gurmit Kaur and Karpal Singh

[More to follow] - Mkini