A three-member bench chaired by Justice Lee Swee Seng framed three questions of law and gave lawyers for the government and Semantan Estate a deadline for filing of their respective written submissions.
The three questions posed are:
- Whether Section 29(1)(b) of the Government Proceedings Act 1956 and Section 8 of the Specific Relief Act 1950 prohibit the court from granting a mandamus order and an order under Section 417 of the National Land Code to give possession following an Aug 7 court order, or whether these two provisions are unconstitutional under Article 13;
(Article 13 provides that no person may be deprived of property save in accordance with law. It also states that no law may provide for the compulsory acquisition or use of property without adequate compensation.)
- Whether instead of an order for transfer of the title to Semantan Estate and delivery of possession, the Court of Appeal may order compensation with the directive that evaluation of the compensation be based on the current market value of the land;
- Whether the Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to remit the matter to the High Court with directions for an assessment of damages for compensation under a judicial review proceeding or an appeal under the Section 417 order.
Earlier today, senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan said the government’s position was that the Court of Appeal could not order the transfer of possession of the property to Semantan Estate under a mandamus order or Section 417.
“Semantan Estate is only entitled to compensation,” he said.
The government is appealing a High Court ruling handed down on Aug 7 compelling the Kuala Lumpur land registrar to transfer the subject land to Semantan Estate.
Shamsul said this was because public buildings and roads have been constructed on the land.
Semantan Estate, meanwhile, is appealing a High Court ruling in 2021 dismissing its application for an order compelling the registrar to transfer the land to the company.
Counsel Cyrus Das said Semantan Estate’s stand was that the Aug 7 ruling could not be rescinded as it was premised on a Federal Court decision handed down in 2012.
“This court cannot take the route of compensation unless it is based on current market value,” he added.
The court was told today that the property is now valued at RM12 billion.
Lee, who sat with Justices Azimah Omar and Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, said parties could continue with their negotiations to settle the dispute out of court.
The bench also extended a stay order granted by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Sept 12 pending the disposal of the government’s appeal.
In 2017, Semantan Estate initiated the present lawsuit against the Kuala Lumpur land registrar to compel the transfer of the subject land to the company in accordance with an earlier High Court judgment.
That ruling was handed down in 2009 by Judicial Commissioner Zura Yahya who ruled that the company retained beneficial interest in the land. Zura said the government had trespassed onto the land and was in unlawful occupation of it following a botched acquisition.
The government failed in its appeals to the Court of Appeal and to the Federal Court in 2012 from that decision.
On Aug 7 this year, Justice Ahmad Shahrir Salleh ordered the registrar to comply with the 2009 High Court order, saying it could not be disputed that the government was, and still is, in unlawful occupation of the land.
The Duta Enclave, acquired by the federal government in 1956, houses the National Archives, the Kuala Lumpur shariah court and other government complexes.
It has also quietly witnessed the construction of several government complexes, sports facilities and other landmarks.