Hearing postponed as Federal Court unable to empanel 5-judge coram

 

Four vacancies have arisen in the Federal Court due to the retirement of judges.

PUTRAJAYA: Three applications filed in the Federal Court seeking leave to review its decision in a family dispute were vacated today due to a lack of available judges.

Lawyer Krishna Dallumah, who is acting for one of the respondents, Paslah Holdings Sdn Bhd, said the court registry would inform parties of the new hearing date once the court could be empanelled.

“During a case management last month, we were told that today’s scheduled hearing would be postponed due to lack of available coram,” he told FMT.

Krishna said the court wanted to have a five-member bench to hear the matter as a similar number of judges had heard the appeal last year.

The decision which is to be reviewed was handed down last April by the Federal Court. It had ruled that an agreement which the late Negeri Sembilan businessman, AS Dawood, drew up 42 years ago to apportion his shares in a company that held his properties did not create a family trust.

Justice Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal, who delivered the judgment, said no trust existed as the purported “gift” by Dawood, who died in 1989, was imperfect.

Others who sat to hear the appeal were Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, and justices Abdul Rahman Sebli, Vernon Ong and Zawawi Salleh, who has since retired.

Of the 11 judges currently serving in the apex court, the four who sat for the appeal cannot hear the application, while several others have been recused.

Four vacancies which arose last year upon the retirement of justices Rohana Yusuf (Court of Appeal president), Azahar Mohamed (Chief Judge of Malaya), Zaleha Yusof and Zawawi have yet to be filled.

FMT understands that the appointment process is still ongoing.

Lawyer M Rajenthirakumar from the legal team representing the applicants confirmed being notified of the postponement of the hearing.

The applicants are Abdul Ravuff Dawood, his siblings Sikandar Batch, Kursith, Faridah Begum and Julaiha Begum, as well as Nafeesha Begam Shajahan (the administrator of Shajahan’s estate).

The siblings are the children of Dawood’s fourth wife, Aisha Bevi.

The applications for review, filed in June last year under Rule 137 of the Federal Court Rules 1995, claimed that the applicants were denied natural justice at the hearing of the appeal.

They named Rahiman Dawood, who is the administrator of the estate of his mother Patama @ Amajibibi Daud Sah, the first wife of Dawood, Paslah Holdings and Azinal Sdn Bhd as respondents in three separate applications.

They want the Federal Court’s judgment set aside and a new panel constituted to rehear the appeal.

Rahiman and Azinal are also objecting to the leave applications. - FMT