Federal Court rejects duo’s bid to prosecute preachers
The Federal Court has rejected an application by S Sivakumar and M Rajasegaran for leave to appeal the High Court’s refusal to grant them leave to bring judicial review proceedings.
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has rejected an attempt by two individuals to compel the attorney-general (AG) to prosecute preachers Zamri Vinoth and Firdaus Wong for allegedly insulting Hindus.
Justice Harminder Singh Dhaliwal, who led a three-member panel, said S Sivakumar and M Rajasegaran failed to satisfy the legal requirements for leave to appeal from the dismissal of their application for judicial review.
Also on the bench were Justices Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
The court made no order for costs.
Sivakumar and Rajasegaran lodged police reports against Zamri and Firdaus between 2018 and 2019 for allegedly insulting Hindus.
They claimed the AG had refused to prosecute despite numerous police reports filed against the duo.
They also noted that the prosecution disclosed in separate proceedings brought by an NGO that the police had classified the matter as requiring “no further action” (NFA).
Sivakumar and Rajasegaran accordingly sought an order to quash the “NFA” decision.
The application was dismissed by the High Court in 2022, a decision upheld by the appeals court last December.
Lawyer T Gunaseelan appeared for Sivakumar and Rajasegaran while senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly appeared for the government.