Najib, Shafee to file affidavits to dismiss Sri Ram as lead prosecutor
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THE Kuala Lumpur High Court has adjourned to next month a hearing for a judicial review application by Najib Razak and his lead counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, to recuse Gopal Sri Ram as lead prosecutor in their respective criminal cases.
Justice Mariana Haji Yahya said case management has been set for November 28 to allow further affidavits to be filed by the two, as well as the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Sarah Abishegam represented Najib and Shafee, while senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan appeared for the AGC.
The Federal Court had on Tuesday dismissed an appeal by the AGC on a lower court’s decision that granted Najib and Shafee leave for a judicial review to challenge Sri Ram’s appointment.
The former prime minister and his lawyer are challenging the legality of the appointment of Sri Ram as a senior deputy public prosecutor. Sri Ram, a former Federal Court judge, leads the prosecution team in Najib’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd trial.
Najib and Shafee had, separately, filed for the judicial review in December last year to challenge the attorney-general’s decision to appoint Sri Ram as a deputy public prosecutor under Section 376 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
They had named the attorney-general/public prosecutor, the government and Sri Ram as the respondents.
They sought a court order to revoke Sri Ram’s appointment or recuse him, saying that his letter of appointment was invalid.
They are also seeking a declaration of a conflict of interest in Sri Ram’s appointment, and requested an order to prohibit Sri Ram from leading the prosecution team in all of their cases, including those for corruption, abuse of power and money laundering. – October 25, 2019.