PSM six drop application

The Star
by M.MAGESWARI

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has struck out the habeas corpus application by Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj and five other Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members after they agreed to withdraw it.

Justice Su Geok Yiam struck out the application after their lead counsel Sulaiman Abdullah discussed with the six during the hearing yesterday, described by a Senior Federal Counsel as merely “academic” since they had all been released from detention.

However, Sulaiman said the six did not agree to the reasons given by the Government, the Inspector-General of Police and the Home Minister in their preliminary objection against the application.

He said there was also no concession on their part in the 19 affidavits filed against them by the three respondents on July 29 but only served on them yesterday.

“My clients maintained that they have done nothing against the law and are of the view that unified public pressure had caused authorities to release them.

“They do not want to be thought of as guilty of anything wrong nor do they concede to anything alleged against them.

“Without prejudice to any further legal action arising from detention, my clients are reserving their rights,” he said.

On hearing this, Justice Su said: “This is a court of law. There is no prejudice and the counsels are communicating with each other.”

Earlier, Senior Federal Counsel Othman Yusof, who acted for the respondents, had raised the preliminary objection, saying that the application was academic as the six had been released from police detention on July 29.

He said the application was a remedy for a person detained unlawfully by the police or kept in custody under Home Minister’s order.

Senior Federal Counsel Amir Nasruddin also argued that the court could not make an order to release the six now as “it was just like the court that it could not sentence a dead man”, adding that the application had no merit.

Amir said the court also had no jurisdiction to hear the application as there was no course of action.

The six filed the application on July 6 on grounds that their detention was unlawful.

Besides Dr Michael, 56, the others are Sukumaran Munisamy, 50, Letchumanan Aseer Patham, 49, Choo Chon Kai, 33, Sarasvathy Muthu, 58, and Sarat Babu Raman, 25.

In the application, the six said they were detained by the police on July 2 under Section 3(1) of the Emergency Ordinance (Public Order and Prevention of Crime).