The prosecution said this was because former prime minister Najib Razak had challenged Sri Ram’s appointment under Section 376(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and the apex court had declared it as valid.
A seven-member Federal Court bench on Aug 7, 2019 dismissed Najib’s bid to stop Sri Ram from prosecuting in the 1MDB case and ruled he could lead the prosecution team in any criminal case assigned to him.
“Accordingly, Sri Ram as a senior DPP is subject to the control and direction of the public prosecutor as provided in Section 376(3) of the CPC,” the prosecution said in its written submissions filed last week and sighted by FMT.
This submission is in response to two applications filed by former prime minister Najib Razak’s wife early last month seeking to disqualify Sri Ram as prosecutor in her ongoing corruption trial.
The other is to seek a declaration that the trial thus far is a nullity.
High Court Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan will hear oral submissions of both parties in open court on June 17.
The prosecution also said the then attorney-general and public prosecutor Tommy Thomas, in his affidavit dated May 11, had affirmed that he personally authorised Sri Ram to conduct the prosecution of Rosmah.
“For the present purposes, that is the end of the matter. The appointment of Sri Ram under Section 376(3) has been held to be valid by the Federal Court and there is confirmation by the then public prosecutor that he authorised Sri Ram to conduct the present prosecution (Rosmah’s case),” it said.
The prosecution also submitted that an affidavit filed by Messrs Jagjit Singh & Co on behalf of Rosmah that alleged Sri Ram had deceived the court and is in contempt is a very serious allegation.
It said the Federal Court ruling in Najib’s case was well within the knowledge of the accused’s solicitor.
“It is therefore submitted that the allegation that the court was deceived is a false statement made intentionally,” it said.
The prosecution said it was widely known that a counsel who signed applications or pleadings that scandalised the court without reasonably satisfying themselves about the facts were themselves guilty of contempt.
It said it was the duty of a lawyer to advise his client to refrain from making allegations like in Rosmah’s applications.
The prosecution, in calling for Rosmah’s applications to be dismissed, also urged the court to reprimand the accused’s solicitors for serious misconduct.
In February, Rosmah, 69, was ordered to enter her defence on corruption charges linked to a Sarawak schools’ solar energy project.
She is accused of soliciting RM187.5 million from former Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin through her then aide Rizal Mansor as an inducement to help the company secure the project through direct negotiations with the education ministry.
She is also accused of two counts of receiving bribes amounting to RM6.5 million from Saidi between 2016 and 2017.
The defence case is likely to be heard on June 22 and 23, and July 12 and 15.
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