PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal on Wednesday (July 29) allowed a stay of committal proceedings against six individuals, including former Undang Luak Sungai Ujong Datuk Mubarak Thahak, pending the hearing and disposal of their appeal against the Seremban High Court's decision granting leave for those proceedings to be initiated.
The committal proceedings arise from allegations that the six individuals had breached an ad interim injunction order issued by the High Court on June 5.
A three-member bench chaired by Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli, together with Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid and Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar, delivered the unanimous decision.
The six are former Undang Luak Sungai Ujong Datuk Mubarak Thahak, Undang Luak Jelebu Datuk Maarof Mat Rashad, Undang Luak Johol Datuk Muhammed Abdullah, Undang Luak Rembau Datuk Abdul Rahim Yasin, Tunku Besar Tampin Tunku Syed Razman Tunku Syed Idrus Al-Qadri, and Shahbandar Sungai Ujong Datuk Seri Badarudin Abdul Khalid.
Previously, the Seremban High Court had granted the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang Negeri Sembilan (DKU) and its secretary, Raja Norazli Raja Nordin, leave to commence committal proceedings against the six individuals for contempt of court, arising from the alleged breach of the injunction order.
The court also fixed July 30 for case management to determine the earliest hearing date for the appeal.
On July 8, all six individuals had filed appeals against the decision of High Court Judge Roz Mawar Rozain, who ruled that there was a prima facie case against them and ordered them to answer the committal application.
Judge Roz Mawar had also dismissed their application for a stay of committal proceedings pending the disposal of their appeal.
The legal dispute originated on May 5, when Mubarak and five others filed an originating summons at the High Court to obtain a copy of the minutes of a special DKU meeting held on April 17.
Among the contents of the meeting minutes was a decision to remove Mubarak as Undang Luak Sungai Ujong.
On June 5, the High Court granted an ad interim injunction to preserve the status quo, maintaining the existing composition of the DKU and Raja Norazli's position as its secretary, pending the determination of issues relating to jurisdiction and justiciability, or until further order of the court.
However, Raja Norazli claimed that media reports on the same day showed that the plaintiffs, particularly Maarof, had been involved in the purported appointment of the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan under Article 11 of the Negeri Sembilan State Constitution 1959, despite the injunction order still being in force.
He alleged that the appointment was made in defiance of the court order, prompting the DKU and Raja Norazli to seek leave from the High Court to commence committal proceedings against the six individuals for contempt of court. – Bernama
