KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here yesterday ordered the Chief Justice of Malaysia Tan Sri Richard Malanjum to file an affidavit-in-reply to an originating summons filed by a daughter of the late Karpal Singh in connection with the alleged interference by the judiciary in the outcome of her father’s sedition case and on the religious conversion of three Hindu children.
Judge Datuk Mohd Firuz Jaffril made the order when the case came up for mention for the first time at a proceeding which was also attended by senior federal counsel Mazlifah Ayob, representing the Chief Justice, and lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, on behalf of her father.
“The defendant (Chief Justice) has to file the affidavit in reply before or on Feb 11,” said the judge, who also fixed Feb 11 for case management.
Earlier, Sangeet informed the court that the summons had been sent to the office of the Chief Justice yesterday, and this was confirmed by Mazlifah.
Sangeet filed the summons last Jan 14 seeking a declaration that the Chief Justice had failed to perform his duties as the head of the judiciary to defend the integrity and credibility of the judiciary when he failed to complete investigations relating to two very serious allegations of judicial interference within the Malaysian judiciary in relation to the decision on her father’s sedition appeal and in the case of kindergarten mother, M. Indira Gandhi.
Sangeet claimed the issue cropped up when lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla issued a statement claiming that a senior judge interfered with the outcome of the late DAP stalwart’s sedition appeal and the matter was reported by an online news portal, Free Malaysia Today , on Aug 22, 2018.
She also claimed of judicial interference in the case of the Indira Gandhi when Court of Appeal judge Datuk Dr Hamid Sultan Abu Backer revealed that he had been reprimanded by a top judge for writing a dissenting judgment two years ago in the case of the unilateral conversion of Indira’s children. — Bernama