Photo by Sam Fong/The Edge

KUALA LUMPUR (April 3): The High Court here on Wednesday granted leave for a judicial review to lawyer Rosli Dahlan against Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razarudin Husain and eight others, including the government, for their move to freeze his bank accounts, purported wrongful arrest, and for imposing a travel ban against him.

Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid said the court found that Rosli’s application to challenge the actions by the police was amenable to a judicial review, as there are triable issues to be considered, and not obliterated as sought by the Attorney General Chambers representing the police.

“The application has passed the threshold for a judicial review, and hence leave (permission) is granted for the case to enter the substantive stage. I fix May 8 for case management of the matter before the registrar,” the judge said in a decision delivered online.

Ahmad Kamal ruled that there is a prima facie case for the alleged illegality and mala fide actions (made in bad faith) by the police.

Quoting Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, Ahmad Kamal said “criminal investigation bodies, whenever they investigate anyone, are bound to comply with the law...any abuse of those powers, such as using them for collateral purposes, not only constitutes possible offences such as abuse of power or obstruction of justice, but also constitutes actionable complaints through the courts’ statutory review powers”.

Following the decision, Rosli informed the court that the police had partially lifted the freezing of his accounts, and that he had filed a second judicial review to seek a release.

He sought that the second judicial review application be heard before Ahmad Kamal and the senior federal counsel representing the police do not object to this case.

However, Ahmad Kamal said he could not determine whether to hear Rosli’s second judicial review application, as he had no control over the court’s registration.

Senior federal counsel Rahazlan Affandi Abdul Rahim appeared for the IGP and the government.

Rosli filed the judicial review application in December, seeking, among other matters, an order for certiorari (a judicial review) against the police and the government to unfreeze his accounts and lift the travel ban against him, as a result of the police linking him with a complaint lodged by AirAsia over i-Serve, which the lawyer said had no relation to him.