A three-member bench chaired by Nallini Pathmanathan allowed the residents’ complaint to be heard after approving 12 questions of law.

The others on the bench were Rhodzariah Bujang and Zabariah Yusof.

Gurdial Singh Nijar, the lawyer for the residents of Sunrise Garden Condominium, said the legal questions framed crossed the threshold of Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.

That provision states that the Federal Court would proceed to hear the merit of the appeal only if an applicant succeeds in showing that the legal or constitutional questions posed are novel and of public advantage.

Gurdial said the crux of the appeal would be whether the Penang Structure Plan 2020 regulates development on hillslopes 76.2m above sea level with a gradient that exceeds 25 degrees.

Assisting Gurdial were Meenakshi Raman, Jessica Binwani and Abraham Au. Counsel Cyrus Das appeared for Sunway City, and Karin Lim for MBPP.

On May 7, the residents had failed in their legal battle when the Court of Appeal affirmed the findings of the High Court.

Judge Yaacob Md Sam, who led a three-member bench, ruled that there were no merits in the appeal.

On May 29, 2017, the High Court had allowed a judicial review filed by Sunway City and quashed the decision of the Penang Appeal Board in setting aside the planning permission given to Sunway City to develop the land into a gated and guarded housing scheme.

MBPP had approved Sunway City’s application for the proposed development in February 2012.

The land, measuring a total area of 32.7ha, is situated within the Sungai Ara area at an elevation of more than 76m above sea level with a gradient exceeding 25 degrees.

The residents appealed to the Penang Appeal Board against MBPP’s decision to grant the planning permission which it set aside in January 2016.

Sunway City then filed a judicial review in the High Court, seeking to quash the appeal board’s decision and a declaration to maintain the planning permission granted by MBPP to them.