Nov 8 decision on Najib’s appeal to disqualify Sri Ram as DPP

 

Najib Abdul Razak will know on Nov 8 whether he succeeds in another legal bid to disqualify Gopal Sri Ram as deputy public prosecutor in the former premier’s 1MDB-linked criminal cases.

The Court of Appeal today set the decision date in relation to Najib’s appeal against a lower court ruling that dismissed his judicial review application challenging the legality of Sri Ram’s appointment as DPP.

Najib’s appeal today is against a Kuala Lumpur High Court decision on Aug 28 last year that denied the ex-prime minister’s legal challenge against the validity of the appointment of Sri Ram, who was a former federal court judge and currently a lawyer in private practice.

Najib had also previously mounted numerous unsuccessful legal bids to remove Sri Ram as a lead member of the prosecution team in the former prime minister’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial and 1MDB audit report trial.

Today’s three-person Court of Appeal bench, chaired by judge Yaacob Md Sam and presided also by judges Lee Heng Cheong and Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, set the Nov 8 decision date after hearing submissions from lawyers Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Harvinderjit Singh, as well as senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan.

Shafee acted for appellant Najib while Shamsul represented the three respondents, namely the government of Malaysia, the attorney-general/prosecution, and Sri Ram.

Harvinderjit represented Shafee, who is also appealing the same High Court decision that dismissed his judicial review against Sri Ram’s appointment as DPP in the lawyer’s criminal case. Shafee’s appeal is also set for decision on Nov 8.

“On the decision, we decided to defer for us to go through the parties’ submissions and case (authorities).

“We will deliver our decision on Nov 8 Monday at 9.30am,” Yaacob said during the online proceedings today.

On Aug 28 last year, when dismissing the judicial review bids by Najib and Shafee, then High Court judge Mariana Yahya ruled among others that then attorney-general Tommy Thomas’ appointment of Sri Ram as senior DPP under Section 376(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code had been properly done.

Section 376(3) states that the public prosecutor (attorney-general) may appoint a fit and proper person to be deputy public prosecutor and that the public prosecutor may designate the said DPP as senior deputy public prosecutor.

Mariana has since been elevated as a Court of Appeal judge. - Mkini