The adjournment was granted by a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Lee Swee Seng, following a request from senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, citing ongoing negotiations.
“The government has applied to adjourn today’s proceedings. Negotiations are ongoing, but I can’t reveal everything,” Shamsul told the court.
However, Semantan Estate counsel Cyrus Das urged for fairness, saying the case should proceed next month given the 15-year delay since the initial court order in 2009.
Lee granted the adjournment and fixed Nov 7 to hear two applications, namely the mandamus order filed by Semantan Estate and the government’s appeal against the Aug 7 transfer order issued by High Court judge Ahmad Shahrir Salleh.
Lee presided alongside Justices Azimah Omar and Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh.
The disputed land, located in the prime Jalan Duta area known as the “Duta enclave”, houses government buildings that include the national hockey stadium, Malaysian Institute of Integrity, national archives, Kuala Lumpur shariah court, the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) building and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Academy.
On Aug 7, Shahrir ordered the government to transfer ownership of the land to Semantan Estate after allowing the company’s originating summons against the Kuala Lumpur land registrar.
The court also instructed the land registrar to fulfil the required conditions within three months, register Semantan Estate as the proprietor of the land, finalise all transfer documentation and issue the land titles free of any encumbrances or liabilities.
Subsequently, the government filed an appeal on Aug 8, and on Sept 12 successfully obtained a stay of the High Court’s decision pending the disposal of the government’s appeal at the Court of Appeal.
The legal dispute dates back to 2003 when Semantan Estate filed a lawsuit against the government, accusing it of illegally acquiring the land.
In 2009, Judicial Commissioner Zura Yahya ruled the government had unlawfully acquired the land, and subsequent appeals by the government in 2012 and 2018 were dismissed by the Federal Court.
Semantan Estate initiated a lawsuit against the Kuala Lumpur land registrar in February 2017 to enforce the 2009 High Court judgment, while the government proposed a resolution to the ongoing land dispute.