Judicial Commissioner Gan Techiong said the Peaceful Assembly Act did not allow the then Dang Wangi police chief (Noor Dellhan Yahaya) to stop or ban an assembly from being held.
“He can only impose conditions to ensure the participants’ safety and avoid any inconvenience to road users,” he said.
The Bar’s walk was organised to voice its dissatisfaction over alleged intimidation towards the judiciary, particularly by way of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation against a sitting judge.
An estimated 500 lawyers had gathered at Padang Merbok that day for a march to Parliament to submit a memorandum calling on the government to uphold judicial independence.
Gan noted that the “walk for judicial independence” proceeded and concluded with a submission of a memorandum to representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office, despite some hiccups in the process.
“The participants were allowed to march, but not (all the way) to Parliament,” Gan said in his judgment.
He noted that Noor Dellhan had cited the government’s Covid-19 restrictions as the reason for the ban.
“However, the health ministry had dropped public gatherings in open spaces as a prohibited activity in May 2022,” he said, pointing out that the “walk for judicial independence” only took place on June 17 that year.
“The Bar had achieved its (ultimate) objective. Therefore, this court has allowed nominal damages for this action,” he added.
The Bar’s lawyer, New Sin Yew, informed the court that the Bar was only demanding RM1 as nominal damages since the suit was being brought as a matter of principle, which senior federal counsel Al-Saifi Hashim, appearing for Noor Dellhan and the police, agreed to.
Gan then thanked both the Bar and police for agreeing on the quantum of damages.
Current Bar president Ezri Abdul Wahab said the lawyers’ grouping welcomed the court’s decision.
“While some parts of the claim were not allowed, this decision reaffirms the fundamental right to peaceful assembly and serves as an important precedent in upholding constitutional freedoms,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, his deputy, Anand Raj, said the decision had vindicated the Bar.
He said the Bar will study the court’s full grounds of judgment before taking the next step.
“I am disappointed with the other findings which do not appear to align with the primary finding. An appeal seems to be necessary and inevitable,” he added.
Former president Karen Cheah, who led the walk, explained why the lawsuit was filed.
“We viewed the district police’s transgressions very strongly when the incident happened back then. We are delighted that our views and beliefs all this while have been justified,” she said.