PUTRAJAYA: Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor failed in her final bid to challenge the appointment of the late Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram as lead prosecutor in her RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project in Sarawak graft case.
A three-member Federal Court bench chaired by Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim today unanimously dismissed Rosmah's leave application for her appeal to be heard at the apex court.
Other members of the bench were Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil.
The court ruled that there were no new legal issues that warrant additional discussion before the top court.
Rosmah, who is the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is seeking leave from the apex court to hear her appeal against the Court of Appeal's decision which dismissed her bid on grounds that her appeal has no merit.
On June 22, last year, the appellate court said the relief sought by the applicant (Rosmah) remained a live issue since it concerns the alleged irregularity, illegality and defectiveness of the government's letter of appointment, or fiat, issued to Sri Ram.
Sri Ram died on Jan 28, at the age of 79, in a private hospital here following a lung infection.
Rosmah, 73, filed the application for leave to initiate a judicial review in the High Court last year, naming the attorney-general/ public prosecutor, the government and Sri Ram as respondents.
She sought a declaration that Sri Ram's appointment as senior deputy public prosecutor (DPP) through three fiats dated July 8, 2020, May 11 and May 21, 2021 was unlawful.
She also wanted a declaration that the entire prosecution proceedings and full trial for her case, which took place beginning Nov 15, 2018, right up to the time the defence closed the case, were invalid and void and that she must be acquitted of all charges under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act 2009.
On Aug 30, 2022, the High Court refused to give leave to allow her to commence a judicial review to challenge Sri Ram's appointment as lead prosecutor in her case.
Prior to applying for the judicial review, Rosmah had applied to disqualify Sri Ram but it was dismissed by judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, who had presided over her solar hybrid corruption trial. Her appeals to the Court of Appeal and Federal Court were also dismissed.
High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid had dismissed Rosmah's application for leave to initiate a judicial review two days before Zaini was scheduled to deliver his verdict in her graft case.
On Sept 1, 2022, Zaini found Rosmah guilty of the corruption charges and sentenced her to 10 years in jail and a fine of RM970 million.
Rosmah was charged with soliciting RM187.5 million and two counts of accepting bribes amounting to RM6.5 million from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin through her former aide Datuk Rizal Mansor.
This was done as a reward for helping Jepak Holdings secure a RM1.25 billion project to provide solar hybrid energy in 369 schools in rural Sarawak.
She has filed an appeal against her conviction and sentence. Her appeal is pending in the Court of Appeal.
Rosmah has been released on RM2 million bail pending her appeal.
