PUTRAJAYA: The hearing for Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s judicial review application in his bid to have the remainder of his prison time served under house arrest will be heard at the High Court some time in September.
Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Hasnah Mohammed Hashim had spelled out the instructions after the Federal Court dismissed an appeal by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) linked to Najib’s judicial review application.
“This is our instruction. We are remitting this case back to the High Court.
“The first case management date is on Aug 18 before the High Court judge who will be a new judge that has been transferred from Shah Alam.
“The High Court judge will fix an early hearing date which is one month from Aug 18, after the exhaustion of all affidavits filed by parties,” Justice Hasnah said here yesterday.
The judge gave the orders after Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah raised his concern that his client would have to spend a couple more years before he could go on house arrest.
At the outset of the proceedings, a three-judge panel chaired by Justice Hasnah dismissed the Attorney General’s appeal and ordered for Najib’s judicial review to be remitted back to the High Court for a full hearing on its merits.
The two other judges on the panel were Federal Court judges Justices Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Hanipah Farikullah.
After the decision was delivered, Muhammad Shafee made an oral application for the judicial review application to be heard yesterday before the same panel.
Muhammad Shafee wanted the matter to be expedited as his client could not afford to lose another day in securing his right to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.
He said the Federal Court has the jurisdiction to hear the substantive hearing immediately.
Muhammad Shafee: Given the possible appeals at the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court, this case might take two to three years before he (Najib) can be given a house arrest.
Justice Hasnah: You are just assuming, Tan Sri.
Muhammad Shafee: Even if we move mountains, it would take at least two years.
Justice Hasnah: I am the Chief Judge of Malaya. I give strict instruction to my judges to dispose cases within nine to 12 months. If you want us to hear the matter, we hardly have three months before our retirement. We do not want to delay the matter.
Justices Hasnah and Zabariah have hit the mandatory retirement age and are currently serving the judiciary on extensions.
Justice Hasnah said that judges were not robots and they needed time to read the documents and deliberate on the matter before coming to a decision.
A hearing at the Federal Court would also deprive parties of their right to appeal as any decision by the apex court would be final, she said.
Muhammad Shafee said his client was willing to take the risk of forgoing his right to appeal if it would get the matter resolved without delay.
Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar stood up and said the judicial review application should be heard at the High Court and not at the Federal Court.
The apex court then rejected Muhammad Shafee’s application and instructed for the matter to be heard before a new judge at the High Court.
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 the legal affairs at the Prime Minister’s Department and the government as the first until the seventh respondents respectively.
In the notice of application, Najib sought a mandamus order that all of the respondents or one of them to answer and verify the existence of the addendum order dated Jan 29, 2024.
Najib is seeking a mandamus order where if the addendum order exists, all or one of the respondents must execute the royal order and immediately move him from the Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur where he would serve his remaining sentence under house arrest.
On July 4, 2024, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Najib’s application for leave, citing hearsay in supporting affidavits.
This prompted Najib to appeal the decision at the Court of Appeal where he won his appeal in a 2-1 majority decision with the order for the matter was remitted back to the High Court.
The AGC then appealed against the appellate court’s decision at the Federal Court.
