Justice delayed is justice denied

Indira to challenge the ex-parte order obtained by the IGP in connection with the arrest of her ex-husband.

GEORGE TOWN: Former kindergarten teacher M.Indira Gandhi will challenge the ex-parte order obtained by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) giving him the right to ignore the Recovery Order and a Warrant for Committal issued by the Ipoh High Court on May 30 this year.

Vowing to mount a serious challenge against the ex-parte order, Indira’s lawyer M. Kulasegaran said, “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

Kulasegaran revealed that the Attorney-General’s (AG) Chambers obtained the order dated Sep 17 for IGP Khalid Abu Bakar from a single Justice of the Court of Appeal (COA).

Although the AG’s Chambers was entitled to make such an application, Kulasegaran said it would have been fair for the AG to serve all ex-parte application papers to him and have the matter heard before a three-man COA bench.

Kulasegaran was of the opinion that the AG’s decision was only going to delay matters while causing serious prejudice to the welfare of Indira and her youngest daughter, Prasana Diksa.

Saying, “It would create a great disservice to the administration of justice”, Kulasegaran added, “The IGP merely had to arrest Indira’s ex-husband and commit him to prison. Something which he, as a policeman, is duty bound to do.

Pointing out it was a trite law in which both parties in the case ought to have been heard, Kulasegaran said, “Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done.”

“Had the court heard us, it might have come to the conclusion that the application was baseless.”

“The AG must convince Malaysians that ex-parte applications such as these are being made for the interest of the public and not for any ulterior motive,” stressed Kulasegaran in a statement here today.

Last Friday, the Ipoh High Court Judge Lee Swee Seng granted Indira’s application to obtain an order of mandamus against the IGP, who had steadily refused to arrest her former husband, Muhd Ridhuan Abdullah @ K.Pathmanathan for being in contempt of court.

IGP Khalid was also ordered to retrieve six-year-old Prasana and hand her over to the mother, which he has steadfastly refused to do.