UNWRITTEN JUDGEMENTS: Former High Court judge yet to submit in 33 cases
Posted by omong on August 23, 2007
The Court of Appeal registry’s records revealed that a
former High Court judge did not write grounds of judgment in 33 criminal and civil cases.
The backlog included three criminal cases in Seremban which carried the death penalty.
The judge presided over the cases while serving at the High Court there five years ago.
The rest are civil cases in which he made rulings while there and in Kuala Lumpur between 1999 and 2002.
…
The New Straits Times had on July 23 revealed that the judge had not provided written grounds of judgment in at least 30 criminal and civil cases.
CJ disputed allegations that he had erred A copy of a document from the Court of Appeal registry showing a backlog of cases due to the absence of written judgments. On Aug 16, it was reported that two men were languishing on Death Row in Kajang prison because the judge who convicted them at the High Court in Seremban had not provided grounds of judgment.
Another person was also ordered by the same judge to be held at the Sungai Buloh prison at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan on grounds of insanity.
On Tuesday, Chief Justice of the Federal Court Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim disputed allegations that he had erred in promoting judicial officers who had not written judgments. He had also asked for proof that he had elevated undeserving judges.
Meanwhile, lawyer Karpal Singh questioned the basis on which Ahmad Fairuz had promoted former High Court judge Tengku Baharuddin Shah Tengku Mahmud to the Court of Appeal.
“A delay of nine years and three months with the grounds of judgment not supplied is more cause for Ahmad Fairuz to spring into action” he said.
Source: New Straits Times
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