PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has dismissed an appeal by Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB) chief executive officer Datuk Nasiruddin Mohd Ali and his wife, Azura Md Yusof, seeking to have their habeas corpus application remitted to the High Court for a full hearing on its merits.
Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who chaired a three-member panel, delivered a unanimous decision that the appeal was devoid of merit.
The panel upheld the Johor Baru High Court’s decision to strike out the couple’s habeas corpus application on grounds that the matter had become moot.
Also sitting on the Federal Court panel were Justices Abu Bakar Jais and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
Nasiruddin, 65, and Azura, 58, had filed the application to challenge their detention under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).
On Jan 14, the Johor Baru High Court, presided by Justice Abu Bakar Katar, struck out the couple’s application after allowing the respondents’ preliminary objection that the matter had become moot.
The judge held that at the time the application was filed on Oct 24 last year, the applicants were no longer detained under Sosma, but were held under a valid warrant of arrest issued by the Selayang Sessions Court.
The respondents named in the application were the Home Minister, Inspector-General of Police, Public Prosecutor, directors of the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Prisons Departments, and the government.
The couple were initially arrested on Sept 19, 2024 and subsequently detained under Sosma on Oct 10.
They were among 22 individuals charged in the Selayang Sessions Court on Oct 23 last year with being members of an organised criminal group operating in Bandar Country Homes, Rawang, Selangor, between October 2020 and September 2024.
During yesterday’s proceedings, their counsel Najib Zakaria contended that the habeas corpus application remained relevant notwithstanding its academic nature, as it raised live legal issues warranting adjudication, Bernama reported.
