PUTRAJAYA: Lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, who is the daughter of the late Karpal Singh, has withdrawn her appeal against a High Court ruling in dismissing her suit against a former Chief Justice over alleged interference by the judiciary in the outcome of her father’s sedition case and the religious conversion of three Hindu children.
She filed the notice of discontinuance of the appeal last Monday (March 9) and the appeal was scheduled for hearing at the Court of Appeal yesterday.
“I have decided to withdraw my appeal as my complaint relating to judicial misconduct is still pending before Court of Appeal President Datuk Rohana Yusuf who has yet to reply to my letter dated 7 Jan 2020,” she said when contacted by reporters.
She also called on the current government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate the matter.
On Oct 22, 2019, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed an originating summons (OS) filed by Sangeet Kaur over alleged interference by the judiciary in the outcome of her father’s sedition case.
Court of Appeal judge Datuk Dr Hamid Sultan Abu Backer, on Feb 14, 2019, filed a 63-page affidavit in support of Sangeet’s originating summons.
In the OS, Sangeet sought among others, a declaration that the chief justice had failed to perform his duties as head of the judiciary to defend its integrity and credibility by not completing the investigation into two allegations of judicial interference.
The first allegation pertained to the decision on her late father’s sedition appeal, while the second, on the conversion of kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi’s children to Islam.
On March 29, 2019, the Federal Court acquitted Karpal Singh of the sedition charge, ruling there was a serious misdirection of law by the High Court and Court of Appeal as both courts failed to evaluate his defence.
Karpal Singh, who was a prominent lawyer and politician, died in a crash on the North-South Expressway near Gua Tempurung, Perak in the early hours of April 17, 2014. — Bernama
