THE High Court today granted the widow of private investigator P. Balasubramaniam leave to commence contempt proceedings against lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and two others.
 
Shafee, Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim and Dr Ganesanathan Shanmuganathan had allegedly prevented businessman Deepak Jaikishan from testifying in a suit filed by the widow, A. Santamil Selvi, against former prime minister Najib Razak, by falsifying Deepak’s illness and medical report.

In her affidavit, Santamil said Deepak was under pressure to avoid court as his testimony would implicate Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor in the forced exile of Bala and his family to India in 2008.

Santamil said her family were forced into exile because of Bala’s second statutory declaration in relation to the murder of model Atlantuya Shaariibuu.

The family is seeking RM840,000 in damages  including for the rental of an apartment in Chennai, school fees, loss of income as a kindergarten teacher, housing loan, and transport costs.

Santamil’s lawyer Americk Singh Sidhu told The Malaysian Insight that High Court Judge Azimah Omar gave the nod for the ex-parte application this morning.

“This morning the judge allowed our application for leave to issue committal proceedings,” Americk said.

Americk said the three individuals will be served cause papers, following which a date will be set for the hearing of the application filed by Santamil on October 31, 2018. 

According to the applicant’s written submission, the three individuals allegedly committed contempt on three separate occasions.

Shafee who was named as the first respondent, is alleged to have misled the court on March 19,2018  into believing that his client, Deepak was ill although this was untrue. Shafee had also allegedly filed a false affidavit.

Shafee told the court that Deepak had obtained a medical certificate a day earlier and was unable to appear in court for the cross examination of an affidavit he had affirmed  on December 15, 2017. The hearing was then adjourned to March 27, 2018.

Azeez is alleged to have on March 26, 2018 ordered the admission of Deepak into Pantai Hospital although he was not ill. Deepak was instructed by Shafee to obey Azeez.

Meanwhile, Dr Ganesanathan allegedly arranged for Deepak to be hospitalised despite knowing that he was not ill and was being admitted to avoid court. The doctor was allegedly acting on Azeez’s instructions.

Shafee had allegedly visited Deepak at the hospital on the eve of the hearing, and was not happy with Dr Ganesan’s report. The lawyer allegedly called Dr Ganesan and asked him to revise his report and told him what to write.

Bala, who was a prime witness in the Altantuya case, died of a heart attack on March 15, 2013, two weeks after returning from India. – April 30, 2019.