Seafield temple’s appeal hearing moved to April 15

PUTRAJAYA: The appeal by the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Temple task force to be an interested party in the inquest into the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim will be heard on April 15.

The Court of Appeal will hear this (the appeal) together with the motion to stay the inquest.

At the hearing yesterday, the court however also said that it would hear first a motion by the Attorney-General’s Chambers, as its outcome would affect both the appeal and the motion to stay by the temple task force.

The three-member bench led by judge Datuk Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid adjourned the hearing yesterday to give time to lawyers representing the temple task force, headed by counsel M. Visvanathan, to reply to an affidavit filed by the A-G’s Chambers on Wednesday.

When met outside the court, Visvanathan said: “Our team will study the affidavit and take the best course of action as the affidavit is very interesting.”

The hearing for the motion to stay the inquest was originally scheduled on Feb 22, but was postponed to March 4 by the same three-member bench – which includes judges Datuk Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal and Datuk Stephen Chung Hian Guan – to give time for the A-G’s Chambers to reply to an affidavit from Visvanathan’s team.

It was then postponed to yesterday from March 4 to give time for Visvanathan’s team to reply to affidavits filed by lawyer Syazlin Mansor – who is representing the Housing and Local Government Ministry at the inquest – and lawyer Mohd Kamaruzaman A. Wahab – who is representing Muhammad Adib’s family at the inquest.

Their affidavits were in support of the A-G’s Chambers’ motion to strike out the application to stay and to dismiss the appeal by the task force.

The Court of Appeal also granted Visvanathan’s request – made on March 4 –that the appeal for the temple task force to be an interested party into the inquest be heard at the same time as the motion to stay the inquest.

The Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Temple task force and 50 devotees of the temple had earlier failed in their bid to be an interested party and participate in the inquest, which is being held at the Shah Alam Sessions Court.

Their bid was dismissed by judge Rofiah Mohamad, who sits as coroner for the inquest, and later by Shah Alam High Court judge Justice Abdul Karim Abdul Rahman.

The inquest – which was on its 22nd day on Wed, April 3 – was ordered by Attorney-General Tommy Thomas in accordance with Section 339 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.