“We need more time to consider the submissions. We also need to read the authorities’ (case law on the subject),” said Justice Hanipah Farikullah, who chaired a three-member appellate court bench.
Hanipah, who sat with Justices Che Ruzima Ghazali and See Mee Chun, said the ruling will be delivered in open court.
Earlier, lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kader submitted that Rosmah’s application, which was filed on June 24 last year, was made within the time permitted under the law.
“We filed the application after the Federal Court bench on May 27 (2022) held that an aggrieved party could not file a criminal motion to challenge a licence given by the attorney-general (AG) in appointing a private lawyer,” he said.
Akberdin told the court the application was filed 28 days after the apex court’s ruling.
Under the law, such an application must be made no later than 90 days after a decision is communicated to an aggrieved party.
Lawyer Jagjit Singh said Rosmah was not in a position to file her application for judicial review earlier as the prosecution had not extended a copy of Sri Ram’s appointment letter to the defence.
Sri Ram passed away on Jan 29 this year.
Jagjit urged the court to remit the matter for the High Court to hear the application on its merits.
Meanwhile, senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan submitted that Rosmah was charged on Nov 15, 2018, and the judicial review should have been filed within 90 days of that date.
“The appellant filed (the application) in June last year, a delay of three years, three months and 10 days,” he added.
On Aug 30, 2022, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Ahmad Kamal Shahid dismissed Rosmah’s application for leave to commence judicial review.
The judge agreed with the AG’s preliminary objection that Rosmah’s application was filed out of time.
As a result, the application for leave was also not heard.
In her application, she claimed that Sri Ram’s appointment as ad hoc prosecutor, made under Section 376(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, did not extend to her corruption trial.
Instead, she alleged that the former Federal Court judge was only appointed by then AG Tommy Thomas to handle the prosecution in 1MDB-related cases.
Rosmah, the wife of jailed former prime minister Najib Razak, sought a court order to set aside Sri Ram’s appointment as well as nullify the findings in her corruption case.
On Sept 1 last year, then High Court judge Zaini Mazlan convicted Rosmah of soliciting RM187.5 million from former Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin through her former aide, Rizal Mansor, as an inducement to help the company secure the Sarawak schools’ solar power project.
She was also convicted of receiving bribes amounting to RM5 million from Saidi, through Rizal, at Seri Perdana in Putrajaya on Dec 20, 2016, and another charge of receiving another RM1.5 million from Saidi at Jalan Langgak Duta on Sept 7, 2017.
Zaini sentenced her to 10 years’ jail for all three charges but ordered them to run concurrently.
The court said if Rosmah failed to pay the RM970 million fine, she will have to serve another 10 years in prison, after she completes her initial 10-year sentence.
The Court of Appeal will hear the appeal on July 11.