Judicial Commissioner Ahmad Shahril Mohd Salleh said the applications to free the applicants from detention was no longer a live issue since all were now under remand in prison.
“Their initial arrest and detention for investigations have lapsed after they were charged in court,” said Shahril, who allowed a preliminary objection by deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Sinti.
Muhammad submitted that the writs for habeas corpus were no longer applicable when the accused were charged and no bail was offered.
However, lawyer Ramkarpal Singh said the applications were relevant as the detention was illegal.
“The detention of the five was illegal as one of the grounds for the applications is that they were alleged to have committed offences after their arrest,” he said.
Seremban Jaya assemblyman M Gunasekaran, Gadek assemblyman G Saminathan, S Chandru, V Suresh Kumar and S Arivainthan filed the applications on Oct 21 following their arrests between Oct 10 and 12.
They were seeking their release from detention under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) over alleged links to the now-defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) group.
In their applications, they named their respective investigation officers, Bukit Aman anti-terrorism chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, the inspector-general of police, the home ministry and the government as respondents.
They said their detention was unlawful as there was no strict compliance with Sosma, and against the fundamental liberties enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
On Oct 31, Gunasekaran, Saminathan, Suresh and B Subramaniam were charged with promoting terrorism here, either through speeches or promoting LTTE through social media from 2014 until this month.
Eight others – A Kalaimughilan, Chandru, V Balamurugan, Arivainthan, R Sundram, S Thangaraj, M Pumugan and S Teran – were slapped with an additional charge of possessing items linked to the group.
All except Subramaniam and Suresh were charged with similar offences in five states on Oct 29. They face jail of up to 30 years or life imprisonment if convicted.
Meanwhile, Ramkarpal told reporters the High Court has fixed a mention tomorrow before judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali after a lower court last week allowed the applications by the 12 men for a decision on whether they can be offered bail despite being charged.
Sessions judge Rozina Ayob referred the matter to determine whether Section 13(2) of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) to deny bail to detainees is constitutional.