KUALA LUMPUR: Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and nine others, who are being sued for abuse of power and malicious prosecution, have failed to stop the trial from proceeding in the High Court.

Judge Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera refused a bid to stay proceedings yesterday, pending their appeal in the Federal Court.

Cheetan Jethwani, who represented lawyer Rosli Dahlan and former commercial crime investigation director Datuk Ramli Yusuf, said the judge held that there were no special circumstances to stay the proceedings.

Vazeer also ordered Gani and the other defendants to file their defence within 30 days.

He fixed case management on July 29. Tan Sri Cecil Abraham appeared for the defendants.

On April 1, a three-member Court of Appeal bench, chaired by Datuk Abdul Hamid Sultan, dismissed the defendants’ appeal to strike out the suits filed by Rosli and Ramli. Hamid said there was no reason to change the findings of the High Court.

“We have subjected the judgement to an acid test of reasonableness, and there is no reason to disturb it,” Hamid said of the unanimous ruling.

Ramli and Rosli in November 2013 filed lawsuits against Gani and several others for, among other things, alleged malicious prosecution over corruption charges. The courts have cleared them of the charges. The defendants have filed a leave application in the Federal Court to appeal against the Court of Appeal ruling.

In a landmark ruling in April last year, Vazeer upheld Ramli and Rosli’s suits, saying the attorney-general, who holds public office, cannot escape lawsuits when they involve allegations of abuse of power.

“I am afraid that the notion of absolute immunity for a public servant, even when mala fide or abuse of power in the exercise of their prosecutorial power is alleged, is anathema to modern-day notions of accountability,” Vazeer said.

Both plaintiffs are now claiming damages to the tune of about RM176 million.

Gani and two others from the Attorney-General’s Chambers then applied to strike out the lawsuits on the grounds that they should be immune to such action in carrying out their prosecution powers.

Ramli, in his RM128.5 million suit, named former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Musa Hassan and 10 others for wrongfully bringing two charges against him.

Rosli, is claiming more than RM47 million for conspiring to arrest and charge him in court over an alleged failure to declare his assets. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 29, 2015.