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KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court of this country has granted a provisional stay to a superior judge who has been asked to appear before the Judges’ Ethics Committee in connection with an affidavit and a ruling.
Attorney Joy Wilson Appukuttan, who represented Appeals Court Judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer, said this meant that the investigation scheduled for November 25 would be postponed pending the outcome of a judicial review procedure.
“Judge Mariana Yahya allowed the provisional suspension of the process before the committee until the result of the request for permission for judicial review,” he told FMT.
The license application will be heard on December 21.
Today’s proceedings were conducted by email with the judge.
Federal attorney Ahmad Hanir Hambaly, representing the Attorney General, objected because there were no special circumstances that would justify one stopping the disciplinary proceedings.
“As the proceedings before the defendants (committee) are at an early stage and authorization for judicial review has not been granted, there is no basis for granting the provisional stay,” he said.
Last month, Hamid requested a statement that the closed-door procedure before the committee was against the rules of natural justice, irrational and against the Federal Constitution.
He also wants a statement that the committee, chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, is acting unconstitutionally by bringing charges against him and that the charges should be declared null and void.
Hamid, who is scheduled to retire next year, said the composition of the seven-member committee to deliberate on his issue also ran counter to procedural fairness, the rules of natural justice and the rule of law.
Hamid has named Tengku Maimun and the committee as responders to his action.
He has also filed a summons of origin in Superior Court for guidance regarding the affidavit and judgment he rendered in a criminal appeal case.
Hamid asked if his June ruling could be the subject of an investigation by the committee.
He also asked if the affidavit he claimed last year in support of a lawsuit filed by attorney Sangeet Kaur Deo was also subject to scrutiny by the committee.
He said the proper forum at this stage would be a real commission of inquiry for the affidavit and the Federal Court for the trial.
The committee filed a request to resolve the lawsuit and Joy said a hearing had been set, also before Mariana, on December 21.
At an international conference in Kuala Lumpur two years ago, Hamid alleged that there had been judicial interference in several high-profile cases.
It led to a lawsuit against the Chief Justice early last year by Sangeet, accusing the superior judge of failing to defend and preserve the integrity of the judiciary.
In August, FMT reported that the committee had issued Hamid a good cause notice regarding the affidavit and ruling.
Hamid, among other things, had said in the ruling that the judiciary was expected to act as a check and balance in the executive and the legislative, as provided in the Federal Constitution.
A month later, Hamid replied that the notice of cause of the show, which according to sources to the FMT, was quite explosive, where the judge stood firm on all the content of the affidavit and also on a 101-page sentence that he had issued. begining of June.
