A Suresh Kumar’s application was rejected by the Legal Profession Qualifying Board after he secured a “compensated pass” in property/land law from a UK-based university.

Justice Ahmad Kamal Shahid said the board’s rejection of the application was valid, made in good faith, and reasonable.

“I am of the view that the decision of the respondent (the board) is not tainted with any error of law, irrationality or unreasonableness that warrants the intervention of this court,” he said in a written judgment delivered last month.

Ahmad Kamal also ordered Suresh to pay the board RM10,000 in costs.

Suresh is appealing the decision to the Court of Appeal.

Suresh, who graduated from the University of London with second class honours (lower division) in 2019, filed his application in August 2022 and obtained leave of the court for the merits of his case to be heard.

He wanted a certiorari order to quash the board’s decision on May 24, 2022 rejecting his application, and a declaration that he had satisfied all eligibility requirements to allow him to sit for the exam.

Ahmad Kamal said the board, established under the Legal Profession Act 1976, was empowered by statute to decide what qualifications are needed for admission to the Malaysian Bar.

Foreign and local law graduates, except those from local public universities, must pass the CLP examination before they are allowed to serve a mandatory nine-month pupillage term and be admitted as an advocate and solicitor.

Ahmad Kamal said the existing guidelines and prerequisites applicable to graduates with law degrees from the UK were issued by the board on March 18, 1995. These, the judge noted, were reaffirmed by the board at a meeting on Aug 13, 2021.

They require students to sit for a total of 12 subjects, which must include six core subjects – contract law, the law of torts, constitutional law, criminal law, land law, and equity and trusts law.

The board refused Suresh’s registration application on grounds that he had not passed land law despite three attempts.

It also dismissed his appeal in June 2022 and reiterated that its original decision was permanent and final.

Ahmad Kamal noted that the board had also received a response from the University of London on Nov 1, 2022 confirming that Suresh was awarded a “compensated pass” in property/land law after narrowly failing the subject on two of his three attempts.

On the facts before him, Ahmad Kamal said Suresh had failed one of the six core subjects.

“This court is of the view that it is well within the board’s authority to equate a ‘compensated pass’ with a ‘fail’ under the 1995 guidelines,” he said, adding that Suresh’s reliance on legitimate expectation had no basis.

The judge said the board was legally empowered to uphold the requisite standard for admission into the Malaysian Bar. The non-acceptance of a “compensated pass” does not amount to a challenge to the University of London’s grading structure, he added.

He said Suresh had not adduced any evidence to prove that the compensated pass awarded to him by the University of London meant that he had not failed the subject.

Ahmad Kamal also found that the board had in the past rejected applications from other graduates of the university on the same basis.

Lawyers P Paari and AP Puthan represented Suresh while Steven Thiruneelakandan, David Dinesh Mathew and Illysa Jace Chakrabarty acted for the board.