In his decision on the longstanding dispute on Tuesday, Justice Ahmad Shahrir Salleh granted Semantan Estate Sdn Bhd’s application to give effect to a court order the company was awarded in 2009 for the land to be transferred to the company’s liquidator.
He dismissed Putrajaya’s application for the hearing to be adjourned for three months pending a proposed settlement, The Edge reported.
The judge noted that settlement negotiations had been held since 2013.
During submissions, Semantan Estate’s counsel Ira Biswas said Putrajaya had tried to settle the matter from 2013 to 2016 but was unsuccessful.
“The court orders the defendants (the Kuala Lumpur land registrar and the government) to carry out the terms sought within three months of today,” Shahrir was quoted by The Edge as saying after hearing oral submissions from the liquidators’ lawyers and the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ representatives.
Shahrir ordered Putrajaya to register Semantan Estate’s liquidator as the land’s proprietor; execute the instruments of the transfer; issue the plaintiff the land title; and return the handling and possession of the land to the plaintiff.
The judge also ordered the government to pay RM50,000 in costs.
The land was acquired by the government for RM1.32 million in 1956 under the then Land Acquisition Enactment, to develop the area as a diplomatic enclave.
It now houses the national archives, KL shariah court, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Academy and Inland Revenue Board building, among others.
The government is expected to apply for a stay of execution of the High Court’s decision on Tuesday, with senior federal counsels Al-Saifi Hashim and Shamsul Bolhassan saying they would seek the attorney-general’s directive.
In 2009, the High Court ruled that Semantan Estate’s liquidator was the beneficial owner of the land and that the government had trespassed on and taken unlawful possession of it.
The Court of Appeal and Federal Court upheld the decision in 2013, while the government’s review application was dismissed by the apex court in 2018.
Semantan Estate had also sought mesne profits as damages for trespassing, which refers to the amount of rent and profit a trespasser may have acquired in occupying the premises.
It valued the damages at between RM3.1 billion and RM6.46 billion with simple interest, and RM12.24 billion with compounded interest.
Putrajaya’s valuer, the Treasury’s valuation and property services department, however, disputed the amount, claiming the compensation should only be RM290 million. This matter is still pending before the High Court.