Lawyer R Sivarasa, representing the six voters, said that Justice Kamaludin Md Said denied them leave, in chambers, to commence the judicial review to quash the Election Commission’s (EC) decision to include the army personnel as Segamat voters.
“The court dismissed their leave application on the grounds that the voters have not exhausted their appeals during the EC inquiry.
“Since there is an appeal process, the voters must follow the process,” he told reporters.
Sivarasa added they will appeal against the court’s refusal to grant them leave.
The six voters, led by Abu Bakar Ibrahim, sought to remove the entry of the 102 army men in the Segamat electoral roll.
They also wanted a court declaration that the army voters’ entry into the parliamentary constituency was unconstitutional.
They want to freeze the army voters’ entry in the electoral roll pending disposal of the court case.
The voters named the EC and its Johor registrar, Shafie Taib, as respondents in the judicial review.
Previously, another High Court had allowed another group of 48 Segamat voters to question EC’s decision to include 949 army men and their family members as voters residing in an incomplete army camp there.
The court also granted a stay against the EC putting the names of the army voters and their family members in the Segamat electoral roll pending disposal of the case.
The EC filed an appeal against the court’s decision that favoured the 48 voters last month.
DAP previously questioned the move to transfer the army men, asking if this was done to “save” the parliamentary seat from falling to the opposition in the 14th general election.
In the 2013 general election, MIC president Dr S Subramaniam won the Segamat seat after defeating PKR’s Chua Jui Meng with a 1,217-vote majority.
EC appeals court decision allowing challenge by 48 Segamat voters