Arul Kanda’s lawyer, N Sivananthan, said Court of Appeal deputy registrar Noor Firdaus Rosli fixed Sept 12 for the case to be mentioned in open court.
“We made the application during a case management on Wednesday as the prosecution, who were appealing the acquittal, had not filed a petition of appeal to identify where the trial judge had erred after the appeal records were delivered to them,” Sivananthan told FMT.
According to the Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994, the prosecution is required to file the petition within 10 days of receipt of the appeal records from the High Court registry.
He said there is also no indication as to whether the prosecution is seeking an extension of time to file the petition or whether it intends to abandon the appeal by filing a notice of discontinuance.
Counsel Alaistair Brandah Norman, who represented Najib during online proceedings today, claimed the appeal records were received on June 26 and the 10-day deadline expired on July 6.
“On our part, we take the stand that the prosecution’s appeal has come to an end,” he said.
On March 3, the High Court freed Najib from a charge of abuse of power without calling for his defence.
Arul Kanda, accused of abetting him, was also acquitted after the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against either accused.
The court also issued a certificate of indemnity in Arul Kanda’s favour after Justice Zaini Mazlan (then a High Court judge) said he was satisfied that the former 1MDB CEO had been truthful and had given full discovery when testifying in the case.
The certificate confirms that no further civil or criminal proceedings can be brought against Arul Kanda in relation to the 1MDB audit report.
Najib was accused of abusing his power to obtain immunity from legal action and causing amendments to the finalised 1MDB audit report before its tabling before the Public Accounts Committee.
The prosecution filed its notice of appeal on March 9.
‘AG never explained discontinuance of Tengku Adnan’s case’
In another case, civil society leaders and the Malaysian Bar had demanded that Attorney-General Idrus Harun provide an explanation on the prosecution’s decision to withdraw an appeal against the acquittal of then Putrajaya MP Tengku Adnan Mansor in his RM2 million corruption case.
In November 2021, then Bar president AG Kalidas said the appeal ought to go ahead as the Court of Appeal’s decision on July 16, 2021 was not unanimous.
At the time, Kalidas said the reasons behind withdrawing an appeal in such a high-profile case must be revealed to demonstrate accountability to the rakyat.
On Nov 18, 2021, FMT reported that the prosecution’s appeal in that case may have lapsed as the petition of appeal was not filed on time.
The appeal was never heard in the Federal Court and no public statement was issued by Idrus to explain the prosecution’s position.