Still no written judgment on Uthayakumar’s case, complaint sent to chief judge

A Sessions Court judge who convicted human rights activist P. Uthayakumar (pic, left) for sedition is in trouble after failing to provide the written judgment despite being ordered to do so by his bosses.

Ahmad Zamzani Mohd Zin had promised to deliver his written grounds this week for finding Uthayakumar guilty of sedition, but when court closed yesterday there was still no sign of the judgment.

Uthayakumar's lawyer, M. Manoharan, immediately sent a letter to the Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, requesting that he look into the matter urgently.

"The trial judge's failure amounts to delaying justice," Manoharan told The Malaysian Insider, adding that the matter is now with Zulkefli who is responsible for magistrates and sessions court judges in the peninsula.

On October 24, High Court deputy registrar Asfahani Hamzah informed the parties that Ahmad Zamzani had asked for three more weeks to provide the judgment.

She had then fixed November 13 for the next case management.

However, Awtar Singh, who relieved Manoharan yesterday, found that Ahmad Zamzani had not prepared the grounds nor the notes of evidence.

Without both these appeal records, the High Court will not be able to hear Uthayakumar's appeal against his conviction.

Uthayakumar was brought to court from Kajang prison yesterday.

The only consolation for him was that Asfahani has now fixed the next case management on December 9, this time before High Court judge Datuk Azman Husin.

In September, when this matter was raised before Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria, the top judge said Ahmad Zamazani would be asked to explain why he had delayed the written judgment.

It is not known whether a showcause latter has been issued to Ahmad Zamazani.

Uthayakumar filed his notice of appeal on June 6, a day after the 30-month jail sentence was delivered.

He is in prison as he refused to seek bail.

The lawyer was convicted for publishing remarks on the Police Watch website through a letter to then British prime minister Gordon Brown in 2007.

The former Internal Security Act detainee was sentenced just hours after younger brother P. Waythamoorthy was appointed senator and deputy minister in Datuk Seri Najib Razak's government, following the May 5 general election.

Over the last four months Uthayakumar's appeal against his conviction and sentence could not move forward due to the absence of the grounds of judgment.

A total of four case managements had been held since then.

Manoharan had repeatedly said that Uthayakumar's appeal in the High Court could not be heard because of the failure of the sessions judge to produce a written judgment.

Once an appeal is filed in a criminal case, a judge must prepare the grounds of judgment within eight weeks.

Manoharan had written on three occasions to the judge's secretary requesting the written judgment, but never received a reply. – November 14, 2013.