Lawyer Abdul Rashid Ismail, appearing for the applicants, said Justice Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh should be recused as he was involved in the passing and implementation of the laws under challenge.
The Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 was passed by Parliament to abolish the mandatory death sentence and remove natural life imprisonment, granting judges the discretion to impose either the death penalty or a fixed-term sentence for offences such as murder and drug trafficking.
Rashid said the central argument for the Rule 137 application was on the laws legislated while Terrirudin was in the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Terrirudin served as attorney-general from September 2023 until November 2024, having previously held the post of solicitor-general from March 2022.
Deputy public prosecutor Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim did not object to the recusal application.
Bench chairman, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Azizah Nawawi, adjourned proceedings to a date to be fixed after a fresh empanelment by Chief Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh.
Apart from Terrirudin, other members of the bench were Justices Rhodzariah Bujang, Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera and Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
Rashid later told FMT the proceedings would be heard early next year.
The seven men are arguing that their indefinite imprisonment under Section 97(2) of the Child Act 2001 violates their constitutional rights following amendments to death penalty laws.
The applicants Nguyen Doan Nhan, N Harichandran, R Nomalan and Hafizul Hafiq Masri (murder), Wong Soon Heng and Leong Soon Long (murder and kidnapping), and Aiman Al-Rashid Yaacob (drug trafficking) are aged between 35 and 36.
In their applications, the prisoners argued that their indefinite detention had become unconstitutional following significant legislative changes in 2023.
They said those changes came into effect under the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 and Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of The Federal Court) Act 2023.
The prisoners said their detention under Section 97(2) of the Child Act 2001 now violates their rights to life and equal treatment by the law – Articles 5(1) and 8 of the Federal Constitution – due to the abolition of mandatory death sentences and natural life imprisonment.
They are seeking leave for the Federal Court to review their sentences, as well as fixed-term sentences instead of indefinite detention.