KUALA LUMPUR: Mahkamah Sesyen Jalan Duta hari ini memutuskan kes tuduhan liwat Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tidak dipindahkan ke Mahkamah Tinggi.
Hakim S.Komathy Suppiah mula membacakan penghakiman ketika sidang bermula pada jam 3.17 petang tadi.
Terdahulu, wartawan sudah mula memasuki mahkamah pada pukul 2.45 petang tadi.
Bagaimanapun, perkarangan mahkamah hari ini agak lengang.
Bagaimanapun, perkarangan mahkamah hari ini agak lengang.
Komathy menetapkan hari ini untuk membuat keputusan bagi mengesahkan sama ada sijil perakuan yang ditandatangani Peguam Negara, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail sama ada sah atau tidak.
Pada 31 Oktober lalu, peguam bela yang diketuai Sulaiman Abdullah mengemukakan hujah tambahan berhubung isu campur tangan Abdul Gani yang telah menandatangani surat kuasa memindahkan kes tersebut.
Sementara itu, pasukan pendakwa raya turut mengemukakan hujah tambahan berkaitan isu tersebut.
Mahkamah kini mendengar permohonan pendakwa raya untuk memindahkan kes liwat ini ke Mahkamah Tinggi.
Kes Anwar menghadapi tuduhan meliwat bekas pembantunya, Mohd. Saiful Bukhari Azlan masuk hari ketujuh di Mahkamah Sesyen Jalan Duta hari ini selepas ditangguhkan pada 8 Oktober lalu.
Perbicaraan kes liwat Anwar masih berada di peringkat awal dengan mahkamah mendengar hujah bantahan pihak pembelaan berhubung permohonan pendakwaan untuk memindahkan kes tersebut ke Mahkamah Tinggi.
Hujah bantahan oleh pihak pembelaan melibatkan persoalan mengenai tandatangan Peguam Negara pada sijil perakuan yang dilampirkan kepada mahkamah untuk memindahkan kes tersebut di bawah Seksyen 418A Kanun Tatacara Jenayah.
Persoalan itu timbul kerana Abdul Gani kini disiasat Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR) setelah Anwar membuat laporan polis terhadapnya -- mStar
from The Malaysian Insider:
Round one to Anwar as judge rules against AG
By Shannon Teoh
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 - Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has won the first battle in his Sodomy II trial.
Today, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court judge S M Komathy Suppiah ruled the certificatedsigned by the Attorney-General requesting the case be transferred to the High Court was invalid.
This will give a fillip to Anwar's fight against the sodomy charge which he has denied and suggested is politically-motivated.
His case will now be heard in the Kuala Lumpur Criminal Sessions Court.
"This case raises a unique situation where it is evident that any involvement by the AG in this case would seriously undermine public confidence in the administration of criminal justice," she said in declaring Attorney General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail's certificate of transfer to the High Court invalid.
On Sep 10, the prosecution had produced this certificate but the defence objected on the basis of the promise given by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi that the AG would not be involved.
Outside the court, Anwar said that he was pleased that Komathy took pains to hear arguments from both sides and kept to her principles.
"At first I was afraid that it might be a repeat of 1998," he said referring to his first sodomy conviction which he maintains, as he does with the ongoing case, was trumped up and politically motivated.
Komathy's grounds of judgment were two-fold, citing legitimate expectation and rule of bias.
Komathy's grounds of judgment were two-fold, citing legitimate expectation and rule of bias.
"The Prime Minister as the head of the Executive... gave his word and intended it to be taken seriously. That the office of the AG also took it seriously is evident from the fact that the Solicitor General led the prosecution team," Komathy said, referring to Datuk Idris Harun.
"That assurance, in my view, created a legitimate and reasonable expectation in the accused and the public that Gani would not be personally involved in this case," she ruled.
Komathy also said that it must be accepted that "there is no love lost between the accused and the AG" as "the defence contends that the AG is in a position of conflict of interest and is thereby disqualified from this case" and with the prosecution not refuting the alleged conflict of interest, the AG's involvement would contravene the rule of natural justice and give rise to bias.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Yusof Zainal Abiden told reporters that the prosecution would refer to a High Court judge to have a judicial review to revise the ruling.
The sodomy case will now be mentioned on Nov 14 where a date for hearing will be discussed.
Anwar has claimed trial to the charge of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan
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