PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has set April 28 to deliver its decision on a leave application by the Attorney General to appeal against the Court of Appeal's decision regarding Datuk Seri Najib Razak's purported royal addendum order for house arrest.
A three-judge panel led by Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Hasnah Mohammed Hashim, set the date after hearing submissions on Monday (March 24).
"We will not be making a decision on Monday," she said.
The other judges were Federal Court Justices Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Hanipah Farikullah.
Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar - in his first court appearance as Attorney General - submitted seven questions of law that he said met the threshold for leave under Section 96 (a) and (b) Courts of Judicature Act (CJA) 1964.
The questions included whether the AG must confirm and provide copies of disputed documents at the leave stage and whether Najib can submit new evidence affecting the Pardons Board decision.
AG Mohd Dusuki added that the subject of Najib's judicial review was non-justiciable.
"This is because the respondent, in effect, attempting to traverse beyond or behind the express words of the main order, a subject matter that is non-justiciable to review by this honourable court," he said.
"The subject matter herein hinges on the 'high prerogative exercisable' by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. As such, the court has no jurisdiction to confirm or vary the decision made by the King in the pardon process," he said.
Najib's lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said they were not challenging the Pardons Board decision.
"We are, in fact, upholding the King’s power in decreeing it (the addendum order). Many people think the Pardons Board made the decision (for house arrest).
"That is nothing further than the truth," he said.
Muhammad Shafee contended that the royal addendum order was "issued by a written decree" and that the AG should provide the evidence.
AG Mohd Dusuki, in his reply, said the AGC was not legally bound to produce the disputed evidence.
"That has always been our stand," he added.
Earlier, the same court dismissed Najib's preliminary objection against the AG's application for leave to appeal, with no order as to costs.
Najib filed the application for leave for judicial review on April 1, 2024.
He named the Home Minister, the Commissioner General of Prisons, the Attorney General, the Federal Territories Pardons Board, the Minister at the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), director-general of legal affairs at the Prime Minister's Department, and the government as the first to seventh respondents, respectively.
In the notice of application, Najib sought a mandamus order for the respondents to verify the existence of the addendum order dated Jan 29, 2024.
Najib is seeking a mandamus order for his transfer from Kajang Prison to his Kuala Lumpur residence for house arrest if the addendum order exists.
On July 4, 2024, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Najib's application for leave, citing hearsay in supporting affidavits.
On Jan 6, Najib won his appeal in a 2-1 decision at the Court of Appeal, which remitted his judicial review application to the High Court for hearing on April 28.
The AG is seeking leave from the Federal Court to appeal the Court of Appeal's decision.
