Lawyer TJ Lee, a member of N Sundra Rajoo’s legal team, said Judge Zaki Abdul Wahab ruled that the suit “is not plain and obviously unsustainable” to be annulled as applied for by Leaderonomics Sdn Bhd.

This means there are triable issues for the court to hear the merit of the suit.

“The court also awarded RM3,000 in costs to Sundra,” said Lee of the ruling delivered via an online proceeding.

The judge had on April 1 heard submissions from both parties. Lee had appeared with Edward Kuruvilla while Leaderonomics was represented by Tong Joe Jye.

A similar application filed by another defendant, V Huganeswaran, will be heard on July 13.

In his statement of claim filed last year, Sundra said a poison-pen letter was addressed to the then Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Shukri Abdull and copied to seven other individuals, including then attorney-general Tommy Thomas, alleging that he (Sundra) had committed various acts of corrupt practices.

Sundra claimed the “soft copies” of the poison-pen letter were also widely and maliciously circulated to, among others, members of the legal fraternity as well as his friends and family members.

Sundra claimed there was an “irresistible inference” that the poison-pen letter was jointly and severally written and published by Leaderonomics and Huganeswaran.

This was because, he claimed, a forensic examination and analyses of soft copies of the poison-pen letter confirmed that the “author was Leaderonomics”.

Sundra also claimed that Huganeswaran, who was earlier in the employment of AIAC, had been privy to confidential information and documents about him and the AIAC.

Huganeswaran was in the employ of Leaderonomics at the time the poison-pen letter was circulated, he said.

Both Huganeswaran and Leaderonomics had filed their defences, denying they were the authors or publishers of the poison-pen letter.

Both defendants filed a striking out application against Sundra, claiming the suit against them was frivolous and scandalous, and an abuse of the court process.