THE high court judge erred when he transferred Najib Razak’s criminal charges relating to SRC International Sdn Bhd funds back to his court on his own initiative, the Court of Appeal heard today.

Lawyer Harvinderjit Singh, acting for the prime minister, said the judge, by doing so, usurped the power given exclusively to the chief judge of Malaya to distribute cases among high court judges.

He said it was a back-door application by the public prosecutor to suggest that the high court judge act suo motu (on its own motion) under Section 417(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) to transfer Najib’s case back to his court.

The proper procedure to regularise the proceedings would be to give Najib a discharge not amounting to an acquittal on his seven charges, and charge him again at the sessions court, said Harvinderjit.

“It has to go through the (court) registry. Distribution of cases is within the power of the chief judge of Malaya. The registry acts on directions and rulings made by the chief judge of Malaya,” he submitted in Najib’s appeal.

Harvinderjit also argued that there is no provision under CPC empowering Attorney-General Tommy Thomas to transfer cases from the high court to the sessions court.

On February 7, high court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali allowed Thomas’ application to withdraw his certificate to transfer Najib’s seven charges from the sessions court to the high court.

The judge then used Section 417(2) to transfer the charges from the sessions court for him to hear the case.

Shafee earlier submitted it was never the high court judge’s initiative to transfer the case back to him, but it was a case of “nudging the judge”.

He said after withdrawing his certificate of transfer, the public prosecutor had, in fact, moved the high court judge to exercise his power under Section 417(2) to transfer the case back to the said judge.

He then requested the court to allow his client’s appeal to overturn the high court’s decision, and order for the matter to be sent back for rehearing before a different high court judge.

The three-man Court of Appeal bench, comprising Zabariah Mohd Yusof, Rhodzariah Bujang and Lau Bee Lan, fixed Monday to resume the hearing.

Najib is facing three counts of criminal breach of trust, one count of abusing his position and three counts of money laundering in relation to RM42 million in SRC International funds. – Bernama, March 15, 2019.