Judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin said a DNAA application could only be allowed if the prosecution had no intention to proceed with a trial.
He explained that a 32-day trial scheduled between September and October last year had been vacated on the prosecution’s application, which counsel for the defence did not object.
“The prosecution is ready. Today, the matter was only fixed for case management,” he said.
Jamil fixed trial from April to May next year.
Lawyers appearing for Najib and Irwan made the spontaneous application for the DNAA, saying their clients’ trial had yet to commence although they were charged in 2018.
Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi opposed the application, saying it would be unfair to give Najib and Irwan a DNAA even before the start of their trial.
“The public prosecutor represents the public who want to see this trial proceed. We are ready to prove our case,” he said.
He said the prosecution had also given all relevant documents to lawyers for the two in preparation of their defence.
The DPP told the court that between 60 and 70 witnesses would testify in the trial.
Irwan’s lawyer, K Kumaraendran, submitted that the case had been stalled since 2018 and had come up for mention 14 times.
“The court can give them a DNAA and charge them again when the prosecution is ready,” he said.
Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed, who represented Najib, said the charges had been “hanging over his client’s head” for a long time.
He also said the prosecution had yet to deliver all documents as required under Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code.
On Oct 24, 2018, Najib and Irwan pleaded not guilty to the six charges of criminal breach of trust.
They were jointly accused of committing all the offences at the finance ministry complex in Putrajaya between December 2016 and December 2017.
They were charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same code, which provides for a maximum 20 years’ jail and whipping as well as a fine upon conviction.
In May last year, Jamil vacated this case to give way to two other cases related to 1MDB involving the former prime minister.
The trial of the two criminal cases, involving 1MDB and its audit report, are ongoing.