This came after the appeals court struck out two notices of appeal filed by the prosecution.
A three-member Court of Appeal bench chaired by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail issued the order following the prosecution’s failure to file its petitions of appeal by July 6.
Hadhariah also noted that the prosecution had failed to file any application for an extension of time to file the petitions.
“The notices of appeal are deemed to have lapsed and become invalid according to law. As such, we struck down the notices of appeal (filed on March 9),” said Hadhariah, who sat with Justices Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Azmi Ariffin.
She said that based on court records, no applications for extension of time were filed despite the prosecution being directed to do so at case managements held on July 21, Aug 28 and Aug 30.
“Until today, after a delay of two months (July 6 to Sept 12), there has been no application for an extension of time,” she said.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim made an oral application to the court for an extension of time on grounds that the case was high profile and one of public interest.
However, lawyer N Sivananthan, appearing for Arul, said the application should be dismissed as the prosecution had not filed anything even as of yesterday.
“We applied to come before a three-member bench today because the prosecution did nothing on the case,” he said.
Lawyer Shafee Abdullah, representing Najib, said the bench could stop the prosecution from filing an application for an extension of time.
“This is because, under section 53 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, an appeal is deemed withdrawn if a petition of appeal is not filed on time,” he said.
Shafee said that during the three case managements, the prosecution was told by a deputy registrar to file an application for an extension of time, but did not comply.
“This showed their lack of intention to proceed with the appeal. Both respondents (Najib and Arul) should be acquitted as it involves their liberty,” he said.
On March 3, the High Court freed Najib from a charge of abuse of power as the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case.
Arul, accused of abetting him, was also acquitted after the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove every element of the charge brought against him.
The prosecution filed its notices of appeal on March 9.
However, it failed to file the petitions of appeal to outline where trial judge Zaini Mazlan had erred in law and on the facts.
The petitions of appeal ought to have been filed within 10 days of June 26, when the appeal records were received from the registry of the High Court.
In a statement, Shafee said that Najib should not have been prosecuted over the 1MDB audit report in the first place, adding that it had caused the former prime minister hardship over the last five years.
“We ardently hope that this definitive outcome allows Najib and Arul Kanda to proceed with their lives, liberated from this baseless allegations.”
Meanwhile, Arul Kanda said trial judge Zaini Mazlan’s decision showed that the prosecution did not have a case against them.
“We have been vindicated. It is time for me and my family to move on.
Lawyer Baljit Sidhu said someone in the Attorney-General’s Chambers should take responsibility for the fiasco.
“Heads must roll as there is a dereliction of duty in ensuring the appeal legal process is strictly followed.”
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