Deepak’s lawyer Vinod Kamalanathan said judge Azimah Omar wanted to hear the stand of Najib and the others in the lawsuit.

This is despite their previous success in striking out the claim against them by PI Bala’s widow, A Santamil Selvi, in July.

“The judge said this (lawsuit) is a peculiar situation, and she wants to hear them before granting leave for third party proceedings,” Vinod said.

The court fixed Nov 23 for mention for updates on the position of Najib and the others on Santamil’s lawsuit.

Santamil and her two children, Kishen and Menaga, sued Najib, his wife Rosmah, brothers Nazim and Johari, as well as lawyers Sunil Abraham, Cecil Abraham and Arulampalam Mariampillai, and commissioner for oaths Zainal Abidin Muhayat last year for causing them intentional harm as a result of their exile to India in 2008.

She said they had deprived her family of a normal life and caused them to suffer both financial and non-financial losses.

They are seeking damages for losses suffered during their five-year displacement.

PI Bala had been embroiled in controversy over his two conflicting statutory declarations (SDs) on the high-profile murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006.

He was forced to leave Malaysia for India in a hurry after signing his second SD on July 4, 2008, a day after the first SD was released.

In his second SD, he said he wished to retract the entire contents of his first SD dated July 1, adding that it was made under duress.

PI Bala, a key witness in the Altantuya trial, died of a heart attack on March 15, 2013, weeks after returning from India.

He had been hired by political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, a close associate of Najib’s, to monitor Altantuya before her disappearance.

Santamil has also filed for leave to appeal to the Federal Court against the appeal court’s decision to drop the claims against Najib and the others.

Her appeal will be heard on Feb 26 next year.