Judge Mariana Yahya also ruled that Tian Chua could now stand as candidate in future elections.

The Batu parliamentary seat was won by law student P Prabakaran, who stood as an independent candidate but joined PKR days after winning the seat.

His candidacy was endorsed by Pakatan Harapan in Tian Chua’s absence.

Tian Chua filed an originating summons on April 26 seeking a court declaration that he was eligible to contest in the general election and by-elections.

The PKR vice-president also sought a declaration that it was unfair to deny him his eligibility and right to contest according to Article 48(1)(e) of the Federal Constitution.

He was disqualified from contesting because of a RM2,000 court fine for a charge of insulting a policeman.

The Federal Constitution disqualifies anyone from standing as an election candidate for five years after being sentenced to not less than a year’s jail or fined not less than RM2,000.

Mariana, who delivered the ruling in chambers, said a candidate could only be disqualified if fined RM2,001 and above.

Tian Chua said today’s ruling was a clear endorsement that the decision of the Election Commission returning officer Anwar Mohd Zain to reject his nomination paper last year was unlawful.

“I can now contest in an election or am even eligible to be appointed as a member of the Dewan Negara,” he said.

Tian Chua said he filed for a declaration this year as a matter of principle and to show there was institutional abuse of power by the previous government.

“It was a political ploy to deny me to contest and serve as a member of the federal legislature,” he said, adding that government organs must at all times adhere to the rule of law and uphold the constitution.

Tian Chua’s lawyer Gurdial Singh Nijar said it was a worthwhile legal challenge after his client abandoned his suit last year.

Senior federal counsel Azizan Md Arshad and Maisarah Juhari represented EC as the respondent.

Tian Chua returned to court to seek clarification as past decisions on his cases at the Kuala Lumpur High Court and Shah Alam High Court, both of which fined him RM2,000 for two offences, had not negated his eligibility to stand as a candidate.

Then-speaker of Dewan Rakyat, Pandikar Amin Mulia, had also stated that Tian Chua’s status as MP was unaffected.

Tian Chua also pointed out that he had contested and won the Batu seat in the 2013 general election without any objection raised.

He said the returning officer for the same seat in last year’s general election failed to take all these facts into consideration and caused his candidacy to be rejected.

On July 16 last year, Tian Chua withdrew his appeal to determine his eligibility to contest elections after the Court of Appeal indicated it would not allow any amendments to the appeal records.

Tian Chua wanted the court to determine his legal status to contest despite being convicted on two occasions.