A three-member Court of Appeal bench chaired by Kamaludin Md Said, in allowing an appeal by L Subramaniam and the human resources minister, said it was for the tribunal to determine whether the foreign mission had absolute immunity from local laws.

Ragunath Kesavan, who represented Subramaniam said he submitted that there is no absolute immunity and the issue is a question of fact to be decided by the industrial court.

“The bench has quashed the High Court’s decision to allow a judicial review application last year that the embassy enjoyed immunity from local laws,” he told FMT.

Lee Swee Seng and M Gunalan were the other judges on the bench who heard the appeal conducted via virtual hearing.

The embassy, represented by Lim Heng Seng, could go to the Federal Court but it has to first obtain leave to appeal.

The embassy sacked Subramaniam in 2008 but in April 2019, the then human resources minister M Kula Segaran referred the matter to the industrial court to arbitrate the dispute.

However, the embassy went to the High Court to determine the immunity issue when the case was before industrial court chairman Gulam Muhiaddeen Abdul Aziz.

Subramaniam, 52, who served the embassy for 21 years, is seeking reinstatement or compensation as a substitute for returning to work. He was earning RM2,000 a month at the time of the dismissal.