Criticising court judgment not an offence, say ex-judge, lawyers

Lawyers are calling the sedition charge against N. Surendran ridiculous and something that is unheard of as he had only criticised a written judgment of the court. – The Malaysian Insider pic, August 20, 2014.

It is unheard of to frame a charge against lawyer N. Surendran for criticising a written judgment of the court, a retired judge and lawyers said.

They said it was ridiculous to prosecute him under the Sedition Act for expressing his opinion, adding that there must be room for dissent and criticism in a democratic society like Malaysia.

Retired Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram said anyone was welcomed to criticise a judgment in the strongest terms.

"You only run foul of the law like contempt of court for attacking the judges personally." 

He said he had never come across anyone, let alone a member of the Bar, being prosecuted under the archaic law, from the time he started practice in 1970 until his retirement from the bench in 2010.

"It is common for lawyers and academicians to dissect judgments. Are we not now allowed to make a critical evaluation of the judges’ legal opinions?"

Sri Ram was referring to the sedition charge against Surendran yesterday for publishing an article, in which he wrote that the Court of Appeal ruling on March 7 which found Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim guilty for sodomy was "flawed, defensive and insupportable".

Michelle Yesudas of Lawyers for Liberty said Surendran made the statement while carrying out his duty as a lawyer and the charge is similar to the sedition charge and conviction of the late Karpal Singh.

Karpal was found guilty in February 2014 for giving his legal opinion as a lawyer during the 2009 constitutional crisis of Perak.

"Surendran's case sets an arbitrary and unjust precedent that will allow courts to convict lawyers for legal views that conflict with the political stance of the government," said Yesudas, who is the legal/campaign coordinator of the lawyers’ group.

She said the Najib administration held the record for the most absurd sedition charges against opposition leaders and dissidents like Teresa Kok, Tian Chua, Datuk Tamrin Ghafar, Haris Ibrahim, Safwan Anang, Adam Adli, Hishamuddin Rais, Suhaimi Shafie.

"We therefore call on the police and Attorney-General’s Chambers to conduct themselves in a professional, fair and independent manner."

Lawyer Ragunath Kesavan said the Malaysian judiciary had gone through a tough time and they had been robust with criticism, adding that Surendran's statement was mild.

"The police and prosecution should not overreact just because multiple reports were made against the accused."

The former Bar Council chairman also said public institutions should not be cowed by pressure but should instead do the right thing based on merit.

"Lodging 300 reports nationwide, for example, did not reflect the culpability of the offence under this archaic law."

- TMI