A three-member bench chaired by Yaacob Md Sam said there was no appealable error committed by High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan in dismissing the former prime minister’s application.
“We find that there is no merit in the appeal. We therefore dismiss the appeal and the order of the High Court is affirmed,” he said.
The other judges were Abu Bakar Jais and Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali.
Sri Ram, now a practising lawyer, was appointed as senior deputy public prosecutor in August 2018 to prosecute four criminal cases involving Najib.
Yaacob said the first complaint was that Sri Ram’s appointment was tainted with an element of interference in investigations that could only be carried out by the relevant agencies and not the public prosecutor and deputy public prosecutor.
The second, he said, was that Sri Ram was tainted with bias and conflict of interest over his alleged conversation and exchange of text messages with then attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali
Last year, Najib had filed the application to recuse Sri Ram, supported by two affidavits – one filed by him and the other by Apandi.
Apandi said Sri Ram had told him that then opposition leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad had ordered him (Apandi) to arrest Najib for an unspecified offence in January 2018.
Najib also referred to a WhatsApp conversation between Sri Ram and Apandi which he claimed indicated bias in seeking Apandi to charge him.
He claimed that Sri Ram was involved in the 1MDB-related investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission that caused him to pre-judge the culpability of the matter.
Najib, 68, and former 1MDB chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy, 45, are on trial over 1MDB audit tampering charges before Zaini.
The former prime minister is charged with using his position to order amendments to the 1MDB final audit report before it was presented to the Public Accounts Committee in Parliament to avoid any action taken against him.
Arul Kanda is charged with abetting Najib in making the amendments to the report to protect Najib from being subjected to action.
Earlier today, lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah submitted that the public prosecutor, who was also the attorney-general, and DPPs could not be involved in investigations by law enforcement agencies
“However, Sri Ram’s appointment letter states that he is to also spearhead the investigation of fraudulent activities in 1MDB,” he said.
He also said Sri Ram and another lawyer went to Apandi’s house before the May 9 general election, which resulted in a change in government, and had subsequently exchanged messages on May 12, 2018.
“Whether Sri Ram was biased and was in conflict of interest must be looked at from the perspective of lay persons. Whether Najib will get a fair trial must be determined from the perception of the public,” Shafie, who was assisted by Nur Syahirah Hanapiah, said.
Sri Ram said the meeting and exchange of text messages were personal matters with Apandi as both were previously judges.
He said his appointment letter did not state he was involved in investigations.
“The wrong perception came about following the then attorney-general’s (Tommy Thomas) media statement,” he said.
Sri Ram said it was for the court to rule whether the prosecution had proved its cases based on cogent evidence.
“Every DPP is biased as they represent public interests. Shafee is also biased because he has to take care of Najib’s interest,” he said.
Sri Ram, who was assisted by Ahmad Akram Gharib and Mohamed Mustaffa Kunyalam, also said Najib had been filing numerous spurious applications to delay his trials in the High Court.
In February, Zaini ruled that Najib’s application was without basis and misplaced as Sri Ram, like any other person, was entitled to his personal opinion.
“It would have been a different consideration if he had demonstrated his biases when carrying out his duty as senior public prosecutor,” the judge had said.
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