> Lingam Tapes: Judgement reserved

The High Court has reserved its decision on the leave sought by five individuals to initiate judicial review proceedings on the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into a controversial video clip.

Justice Datuk Abdul Kadir Musa said today that he would deliver the judgment at a later date.

The 22-minute clip showed lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam talking on the telephone about judicial appointments with someone whom the inquiry found was former Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim.

The clip was recorded in 2002 when Fairuz was the chief judge of Malaya. The leave to initiate judicial review proceedings was sought by Lingam, Fairuz and three others - former Chief Justice Eusoff Chin, tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor - who were also implicated.

Senior Federal Counsel Azizah Nawawi told the court that leave should be denied as the findings of the inquiry were not reviewable because they were not decisions in the context of Order 53 Rule 2(4) of the Rules of High Court 1980.

Meanwhile, lawyer Razlan Hadri who held a watching brief for the Bar Council appeared at the last minute and requested to hand in a written submission on points of law relating to the Federal Constitution.

Lingam who represented himself objected to request, saying that it was unfair for a party to interfere at the very last minute.

He also questioned why the Bar did not make the application when the hearing started in July.

He said there would be further delays if the Bar was allowed to make the submission as the other counsel would also need to reply to it.

The afternoon hearing was dragged until 5.45pm when the judge allowed Razlan to make his submission orally not in open court but through Azizah. - Bernama