Federal Court grants EC leave to appeal in voters' challenge on boundary alteration

PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission (EC) can proceed with its appeal against the appellate court's ruling which favoured three Hulu Selangor voters over boundary alteration of the Kuala Kubu Baru (KKB) and Batang Kali constituencies.
This followed the decision by the Federal Court three-man panel today to grant leave to the EC and its Principal Assistant Secretary to appeal against the appellate court's decision.
On July 3 this year, the Court of Appeal gave leave to the three voters – P. Maradeveran, Zahar Rusuli and Yong Chan Hee – to initiate their legal challenge by way of a judicial review against the EC's decision to alter the boundaries for the both constituencies.
Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop, who chaired the panel with Federal Court judges Tan Sri Abu Samah Nordin and Tan Sri Azahar Mohamed, held that there were legal questions that required further arguments.
Justice Ahmad allowed the EC's leave to appeal the application on three questions of law following which the Federal Court would set another day to hear the EC's appeal.
The Federal Court would deliberate and decide on issues including whether the voters could challenge in court on gazetted electoral roll.
The Federal Court would also determine whether the voters' application to seek leave for judicial review was filed within time.
On Jan 25 this year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed the voters' application on grounds that their judicial review was filed out of time.
The court (High Court) made that ruling after allowing the EC's preliminary objection against the leave for judicial review.
The appellate court reversed that decision after allowing the voters' appeal.
In the application, the three voters said that on April 29, 2016, the EC had published a notice vide Federal Gazette to inform on the alteration of polling district in constituencies carried out under Section 7(2) of the Elections Petition Act 1958.
Maradeveran and Zahar, who are voters for the Batang Kali constituency, wrote to EC stating that their right to vote had been severely prejudiced after they had discovered on July 24, 2016, that their polling constituency was changed from Batang Kali to KKB.
Yong, an elector in the KKB constituency claimed she was adversely affected by the alteration of the KKB and Batang Kali constituency boundaries.
Senior federal counsel Datuk Amarjeet Singh appeared for the EC while lawyer Gobind Singh Deo represented the voters. — Bernama