A five-man bench led by Raus Sharif said the court had no jurisdiction to hear P Uthayakumar’s appeal as the judiciary could not direct the executive to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry on the matter.
The bench then struck out the case after hearing a preliminary objection raised by government lawyer Nadia Hanim Mohd Tajuddin.
Nadia said the matter was academic as Uthyakumar, a lawyer, had served his prison term and was a free man.
Uthayakumar had served a 24-month jail term in Kajang prison for a seditious offence but was freed in 2014.
Raus then asked Uthayakumar, who appeared in person, whether the bench was empowered to direct the executive to form a RCI.
“Are we not encroaching the executive arm of the government? Just like we do not want them to interfere in the judiciary due to the separation of powers,” he said.
Uthayakumar said he could not go elsewhere for remedy except the court.
However, the bench struck out the appeal.
Nadia asked for RM100,000 in costs as the government had been continuously objecting to his declaratory order from the High Court.
Uthayakumar said this was an order sought by way of criminal application and it would be unprecedented to allow costs.
“This is not for my personal wellbeing but in the public interest.” he said.
Raus then ordered no costs to be paid to the government.
In June 2015, Uthayakumar filed his case in the High Court but it was struck out following an objection by government lawyers.
Among the grounds were that the application was incompetent, an abuse of court process and that the matter could not be decided by the court.
In his application, Uthayakumar had sought for Prime Minister Najib Razak, with the Attorney-General’s advice, to propose to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to establish a RCI.
Among others, he said that prisoners at all prisons nationwide should be given healthcare and medical treatment by specialists.
He also wanted current prison conditions to be looked into and appropriate reform to be introduced.
Uthayakumar was sentenced to 30 months jail for sedition by a Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur in 2013.
He was, however, released in October 2014 after the Court of Appeal reduced his jail term to 24 months.
He was also held at the Kamunting detention centre under the now repealed Internal Security Act for 18 months from December 2007 following the Hindraf rally.