Court to decide on Jan 17 whether Tengku Fakhry can challenge Regent’s decision

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KUALA LUMPUR: Kelantan Temenggong Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra is yet to know whether he will be allowed to challenge the decision of the Kelantan Regent in removing him from the list of the next sovereign.This is because the High Court has first to decide on the issue of his 42-day delay in filing for leave for a judicial review, as raised by the regent Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra in the court yesterday.

Counsel Datuk Cecil Abraham, for Tengku Muhammad Faris, told the court that the application for judicial review was only filed by Tengku Muhammad Fakhry 82 days after he was removed from the Kelantan Council of Succession on Sept 16.

He submitted that the application for judicial review must be filed within 40 days from the date the grounds for the application arose, as provided under Rule 53 of the Rules of the High Court 1980.

He submitted that extension of time was a jurisdictional issue and therefore the court should hear arguments on an inter-parte basis before making any decision.

Counsel K Shanmuga, for Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, submitted that the application for judicial review was filed after Tengku Muhammad Fakhry received a letter from the secretary of the Council of Succession on Oct 26.

The letter was a reply to Tengku Muhammad Fakhry’s letter dated Oct 25, asking for the grounds of his removal but no ground was given to him.

He said the application for judicial review was filed on Dec 7, which was a delay of two days from the period of 40 days required by the Rules of the High Court.

Shanmuga said the court had discretion to decide the issue of the extension of time on an ex-parte basis as there was no binding authority saying that the court must always hear the matter inter-parte.

“This is an important issue and the court needs to make its ruling,” said Justice Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof who fixed Jan 12 to give his decision.

On Dec 7, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, 31, filed the application for judicial review to quash Tengku Muhammad Faris’s decision in revoking his appointment from the membership of the Kelantan Council of Succession.

In his application, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry also sought an order from the court to require Tengku Muhammad Faris to restore him as a member of the council, and an order of certiorari to quash the appointment of five other members to the council.

Tengku Muhammad Fakhry named the regent, secretary of the Council of Succession and the Kelantan government as respondents.

The other five respondents are Datuk Hashim Yusoff, Datuk Tengku Salwah Sultan Yahya Petra, Datuk Sukri Mohamed, Datuk Che Mohd Rahim Jusoh and Mohammad Razin Kamarulzaman.

Abraham also acted for the other respondents while the Kelantan government was represented by state legal advisor Azlan Abdul Halim. — Bernama