Chief Justice Raus Sharif said an order to produce Anwar in court was not necessary as the leave application would be heard on April 23 by a single Federal Court judge in chambers.
“What is the purpose of his presence when the matter will be decided before a judge in chambers?” he asked.
However, lawyer Latheefa Koya, appearing for Anwar, said her client had the right to follow the case. “This is an issue of public interest,” she said.
The opposition leader is serving a five-year jail term in Sungai Buloh prison for sodomy and is expected to be freed on June 8.
On Jan 2, Anwar filed a legal challenge to question the validity of several amendments made in 1983, 1984, and 1994 that removed the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong’s powers to give the final approval for bills passed by Parliament.
The Federal Court must give leave to such applications before the merit of the case can be heard.
Anwar alleged that Parliament had no power to pass such amendments as they took away the mandatory requirement of royal assent under Article 66 which formed the basic structure of the Federal Constitution.
By that token, Anwar also wants the courts to declare that the National Security Council (NSC) Act, which became law in June 2016 without a royal assent, is invalid.
He named the government as the sole respondent in the direct challenge.
Anwar was deputy prime minister in the government led by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, which amended the Federal Constitution in 1994 without referring to the Conference of Rulers as required, making it such that any bill approved by Parliament would automatically become law after 30 days, even without royal assent.
Before 1994, the king had the power to return a bill to Parliament for reconsideration and to state his reasons for objecting to the bill.