THE Malaysian Bar has called for a royal commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of judicial interference raised in a summons filed by the daughter of the late Karpal Singh against chief justice Richard Malanjum.

In the summons filed by Sangeet Kaur Deo on Monday, she said her originating summons was filed “in light of his (Malanjum’s) failure thus far to investigate and complete investigations relating to two very serious allegations of judicial interference within the Malaysian judiciary”.

Sangeet, a lawyer, also called for the Bar “to take a stand in this matter.”

Bar president George Varughese today called for the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry to look into Sangeet’s claims.

“Since the Malaysian judiciary has stated (in a press release on November 26) that it was not in a position to make a definitive finding after their internal investigations due to the retirement of the top judge concerned, the Malaysian Bar reiterates our call for a royal commission of inquiry to be established without delay,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“The RCI should leave no stone unturned in its investigations and make recommendations to stamp out improper practices and propose further reforms of the judiciary.”

Varughese also addressed the issue during his speech at the opening of the legal year of Sabah and Sarawak, held in Kota Kinabalu today.

Present were Malanjum and other senior judges.

The case, filed by Sangeet, concerns allegations raised by lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, who said in a Facebook post on August 22 last year that the outcome of Karpal’s sedition appeal two years ago was altered due to judicial interference by a senior judge.

Karpal died in a road accident on April 17, 2014.

He had been charged with sedition for saying the removal of Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as menteri besar by the late Perak sultan, Sultan Azlan Shah, and the appointment of Zambry Abdul Kadir in his place, could be questioned in court.

On February 21, 2014, the high court found Karpal guilty. On May 30, 2016, his conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Sangeet also filed the originating summons in relation to allegations by former Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Bakar on August 16 last year that he was reprimanded by a top judge for delivering a dissenting judgment in a unilateral Muslim conversion case in 2016.

Hamid, who spoke at the 2018 International Malaysia Law Conference, had said he was barred from hearing cases related to the federal constitution and public interest matters. – January 18, 2019.