ATTORNEY-GENERAL Idrus Harun today withdrew his appeal over a high court decision allowing an interim stay of the Judges’ Ethics Committee’s (JEC) inquiry proceedings against Court of Appeal judge Dr Hamid Sultan Abu Backer, which was scheduled on November 25.

Senior federal counsel Mohd Sabri Othman informed a three-member Court of Appeal panel led by Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) was withdrawing its appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision.

“We were informed the respondent’s (Hamid Sultan) side had no objection to this application and there was no issue related to costs,” said Sabri.

However, he said the notice of discontinuance of the appeal was not filed as Hamid Sultan’s counsel did not give their consent, due to the “facts and circumstances of this case”.

Zabidin, who heard the matter with justices Abu Bakar Jais and Darwryl Goon Siew Chye, then struck out the appeal with no order as to costs.

On November 12, high court judge Mariana Yahya granted the interim stay to Hamid Sultan, on grounds the status quo must be maintained until the hearing of the Court of Appeal judge’s challenge against the JEC’s decision to hold investigative in-camera proceedings against him.

The court then extended the interim stay pending the decision for the judicial review application, which was fixed on January 21 next year.

With this extended interim granted, the date for JEC’s inquiry has yet to be fixed.

Federal counsel M. Kogilambigai also informed the panel the A-G had filed a fresh appeal against the extended interim stay with the certificate of urgency last week.

Earlier, Hamid Sultan’s lead counsel Bastian Pius Vendargon told the court his client was disturbed by the insistence for the matter to be heard on an early date, between Christmas and New Year.

“Because both Joy Wilson Appukuttan and I are celebrating Christmas, although this case is of public importance,” he said.

Zabidin said the court registry would consult parties before fixing a date to hear an appeal and a panel will only be assembled to hear the appeal after the registry has fixed the date.

Later, during a case management before senior deputy registrar N. Kanageswari, the court fixed January 14 next year to hear the appeal.

On October 20, Hamid Sultan, filed the challenge through Messrs KH Lim & Co in the high court, naming the chairman and the JEC as the first and second respondents.

He is seeking a certiorari order to quash the decision of the respondents stated in the first respondent’s letter dated September 28 and 29, as well to declare the decision as invalid and void, in violation of Articles 5 and 8 of the federal constitution.

He is also seeking a declaration the seven-member composition of the committee to listen to and deliberate on the complaints made against him as violating legal procedures and regulations.

The judge also sought a declaration that the first respondent, as committee chairman, was not eligible to hear or deliberate on the complaints raised in the first respondent’s notice dated August 10. 

Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat is the chairman of the JEC at present.

Hamid Sultan, in his supporting affidavit accompanying the judicial review, said the application was made to protest against the decision of the JEC not to allow his request for the proceedings to be heard in an open forum.

He said the application was filed based on the decision of the first respondent to investigate two complaints raised against him by other judges involving his judgment as the Court of Appeal judge in the public prosecutor’s case against Aluma Mark Chinonso & Anor, and the affidavit he affirmed in support of an originating summons filed by lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, who sought several declarations with respect to court decisions made in her late father Karpal Singh’s appeals. – Bernama, December 23, 2020.