Federal Court dismisses habeas corpus appeal by GISBH CEO and wife

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court today dismissed the appeal by Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH) chief executive officer Datuk Nasiruddin Mohd Ali and his wife, Azura Md Yusof, seeking to have their habeas corpus application remitted to the High Court for a full hearing on its merits.

Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who chaired the three-member panel, delivered the unanimous decision, holding that the appeals were devoid of merit.

The panel upheld the Johor Bahru High Court’s decision to strike out the couple’s habeas corpus application on the grounds that the matter had become moot.

Also sitting on the Federal Court panel were Justices Datuk Abu Bakar Jais and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.

Nasiruddin, 65, and Azura, 58, had filed the application to challenge their detention under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA).

On Jan 14, the Johor Bahru High Court, presided over by Justice Datuk Abu Bakar Katar, struck out the couple’s application after allowing the respondents’ preliminary objection that the matter had become moot.

The judge held that at the time the application was filed on Oct 24 last year, the applicants, Datuk Nasiruddin Mohd Ali and Azura Md Yusof, were no longer detained under SOSMA, but were instead held under a valid warrant of arrest issued by the Selayang Sessions Court.

The respondents named in the application were the Home Minister, Inspector-General of Police, Public Prosecutor, Directors of the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Prisons Departments, and the Government of Malaysia.

The couple were initially arrested by the police on Sept 19 2024 and subsequently detained under the SOSMA on Oct 10 of the same year.

They were among 22 individuals charged before the Selayang Sessions Court on Oct 23 last year for allegedly being members of an organised criminal group operating in Bandar Country Homes, Rawang, Selangor, between October 2020 and September 2024.

Nasiruddin and Azura subsequently filed the habeas corpus application at the Johor Bahru High Court the following day, on Oct 24, 2024.

During today’s proceedings, their counsel Najib Zakaria, contended that the habeas corpus application remained relevant notwithstanding its academic nature, as it raised live legal issues warranting adjudication.

However, senior federal counsel Mohd Zain Ibrahim, appearing for the respondents, submitted that the High Court had rightly struck out the application, as the appellants were no longer detained under the SOSMA at the material time.

He further submitted that the appellants ought to have pursued the appropriate legal avenue by applying for bail, rather than appealing the dismissal of the habeas corpus application.

Mohd Zain also informed the court that Azura has since been released on bail pending trial, whereas Nasiruddin’s bail application was denied, with no appeal subsequently filed.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Najib said they are exploring other legal avenues, including the possibility of applying to strike out the charges.