Lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo has withdrawn her appeal to reinstate the judicial misconduct suit against the chief justice.
When contacted by Malaysiakini today, the daughter of late veteran lawyer Karpal Singh confirmed that she officially withdrew her appeal on Monday this week (March 9).
On Oct 22 last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed the suit on grounds that the legal action was academic due to her late father had already been acquitted of sedition by the Federal Court, among others. Sangeet (above) then appealed to the Court of Appeal.
Earlier during the same proceeding that day (Oct 22 last year), the High Court also allowed the respondent chief justice’s application, made through the Attorney-General’s Chambers, to expunge the majority of the affidavit of serving Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer. Sangeet was relying on the affidavit in the judicial misconduct suit.
Sangeet today said she made the decision to withdraw the appeal as she had written to Court of Appeal (COA) president Rohana Yusuf to look into the allegation of judicial misconduct, and that the former is now awaiting a response from the latter.
“I have decided to withdraw my appeal as my complaint (letter) remains pending before Justice Rohana, who is yet to reply to my letter to her dated Jan 7, 2020.
“In view of the public allegations of interference by a sitting judge (Hamid) of the COA and a senior member of the bar, the matter is in the hands of the judiciary who can no longer delay investigations into the shocking public allegations of judicial interference.
“Suggesting that there is a need to wait for the police to investigate, is with respect a convenient excuse, bearing in mind I lodged the police report in August 2018, and obviously nothing has come out of the said police investigations.
“Whether I proceed with the appeal or not, the judiciary will have to decide whether it wishes to clean up its house.
“I also urge the current administration to pursue the RCI (Royal Commission of Inquiry) if it is indeed serious about governance with integrity.
"In December 2019, the committee members of the caucus for parliamentary reforms, then chaired by DSAI (PKR president Anwar Ibrahim), had expressed their commitment to push the cabinet to pursue the RCI. Some of those members are now in cabinet,” Sangeet said.
In regard to the letter to Rohana, Sangeet said she initially wrote a letter to Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat as when she (Tengku Maimun) was appointed as chief justice, she invited people who had complaints to write to her.
Sangeet said she then wrote to Tengku Maimun, who replied back that she (Tengku Maimun) was in a “position of conflict” as she was part of the Court of Appeal bench which, in a 2-1 majority decision on May 30, 2016, had upheld Karpal’s conviction while reducing the fine.
On March 29 last year, the Federal Court quashed the sedition conviction against Karpal.
Sangeet said that Tengku Maimun then forwarded the complaint to then Court of Appeal president Ahmad Maarop.
“He (Ahmad) wrote to me saying (the matter is) awaiting police investigation. I then wrote to (Ahmad) Maarop and said I was of the view that he was not suitable (to consider the complaint) as he had presided in the prosecution’s appeal when the High Court acquitted my father initially.
“He (Ahmad) then retired. So I wrote to Justice Rohana who has taken over as president of COA. Awaiting her response,” Sangeet said.
In July 2010, the High Court acquitted Karpal (photo) on grounds that the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case.
However, the acquittal was quashed by the Court of Appeal, and the matter went back to the High Court, leading to the High Court sedition conviction against him on Feb 21, 2014.
Sangeet pointed out that just because Tengku Maimun was in a conflicted position, does not mean that an internal inquiry cannot be done by another judge.
“The members of the judiciary have a duty to the public to always protect the dignity of the institution. Their silence in this situation is deafening,” she said.
On Oct 2 last year, Sangeet had questioned the inaction of the government and judiciary over allegations of judicial misconduct raised by Hamid.
In shocking allegations contained in his affidavit filed on Feb 14 last year, Hamid claimed that certain members of the judiciary have been aiding private parties to defraud the government.
He alleged that the act of defrauding was done through nominees of politicians who had contracts with the government.
In February last year, then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad instructed for an RCI into judicial misconduct to be set up.
However, former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee filed a suit to stop the RCI but his bid was struck out on July 24.
Then de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong said the government would decide on the RCI into judicial misconduct after Yong's 30 days appeal deadline elapses.
On Jan 14 last year, Sangeet filed her suit against the chief justice (who was not named in the suit), seeking a declaration that he had failed to protect and defend the integrity of the judiciary, including the sedition case against Karpal. - Mkini
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