Senior federal counsel Irmawatie Daud said the date was fixed after an online case management before Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh in the High Court here today.
Irmawatie said Wan Ahmad Farid also ordered the parties to file their written submissions by May 2.
Lawyer Haikaldin Mahyidin represented Thomas.
Both defendants contend that the suit is scandalous, frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of the court’s process.
Thomas, who filed the suit on Oct 27, said the publication of the task force’s report on his memoir titled “My Story: Justice In The Wilderness” was a breach of the law and his constitutional rights.
He named task force chairman JC Fong and its members – Hashim Paijan, Junaidah Kamarruddin, BS Jagjit Singh, Shaharudin Ali, K Balaguru, Farah Adura Hamidi and Najib Surip – as defendants.
He is seeking a declaration that the task force is an unlawful body and has no legal authority to perform the functions assigned to it by the government.
Thomas also wants a declaration that the purported report, titled “Laporan Pasukan Petugas Khas – Siasatan Ke Atas Dakwaan Dakwaan Dalam Buku Bertajuk My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”, produced by the task force is an illegal document and not authorised by law.
In his originating summons, Thomas contends that the publication of the report violates Sections 499 and 500 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
He wants a declaration that the government’s publication of the report violates his right to reputation which, he says, is protected by Articles 5(1) and 13(1) of the Federal Constitution.
Thomas is asking for compensation from all the defendants if the court finds that his constitutional rights have been breached.
He also wants aggravated and exemplary damages from the task force members to be paid by each of them personally.
The task force was established by then prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government on Oct 8, 2021 to undertake a preliminary study of disclosures made by Thomas in his book, published in January 2021.
On Dec 22, 2021, the Cabinet approved the task force’s terms of reference, which involved investigating allegations about the judiciary, exposure of government secrets, abuse of power, professional negligence and seditious statements.
The task force’s report was tabled before the Cabinet in September last year and made public on Oct 21, 2022.