Justice Ahmad Zahidi Ibrahim said there were no special circumstances to give a stay to the government pending its appeal in the Court of Appeal.
The government had filed an urgent application for stay yesterday and the court heard the matter today.
PKR politician Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad’s lawyer Syahredzan Johan said the government and the attorney-general’s chambers wanted the case to be adjourned as their appeal would be rendered nugatory if the trial went on.
Zahidi had earlier fixed this Thursday and Friday to hear the suit.
The judge had now adjourned hearing to Oct 16 and 17, Syaredzan said.
On May 16, the judge threw out the application by the government and Gani to strike out Nik Nazmi’s suit, which they claimed was frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of the court process.
They said Nik Nazmi’ suit was also academic as he had pleaded guilty last December to a charge of organising the Black 505 rally in 2013.
Three days after the May 16 decision, the government filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal on Zahidi’s refusal to strike out the suit.
The judge had said there were triable issues in Nik Nazmi’s suit and witnesses needed to be called.
On Dec 8 last year, Nik Nazmi decided to plead guilty in the Shah Alam High Court to organising the mammoth gathering in protest at the May 5, 2013 general election outcome.
He was fined RM1,500 but the government has appealed on the inadequacy of the sentence.
He committed the offence by failing to give the mandatory 10-day notice to police under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 regarding the gathering at Stadium Kelana Jaya on May 8, 2013.
Nik Nazmi was first charged with the offence in May 2013 in the Sessions Court but the Court of Appeal acquitted him in April the following year on grounds that the section that provided for a maximum RM10,000 fine was unconstitutional.
He was again charged in the lower court with the same offence in May 2014 but the High Court threw out the government’s appeal as it was bound by the Court of Appeal ruling.
The prosecution in 2015 charged Nik Nazmi for the third time for organising the rally and he pleaded guilty to the offence.
This prompted Nik Nazmi to file the tort of misfeasance suit against Gani on March 31, 2015, on grounds that he had been the victim of malicious prosecution.
He named Gani and the government as respondents to the suit.
Gani, in his defence, said his act was purely an exercise of discretion vested in him by law and not done in bad faith.
He said there must be a charge hanging over Nik Nazmi because the government had appealed against the Court of Appeal decision to the Federal Court.
“He was charged to preserve the integrity of the appeal in the Federal Court.”
He said the government finally withdrew the appeal at the Federal Court.
Gani was replaced as AG on July 28, 2015, purportedly on medical grounds while he was leading the 1MDB investigations, and he retired as a civil servant on reaching age 60 three months later.