Family of late PI Bala loses legal battle to reinstate civil suit against Najib, Rosmah and six others

Its the end of the road for the widow of private investigator P. Balasubramaniam and her children to restore their civil suit against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and six others.

This followed the decision of the Federal Court's three-man-bench, chaired by Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif, Wednesday, in dismissing their application to amend their court documents.

A. Santamil Selvi and her children had applied to the Federal Court for a review of a decision by the Court of Appeal, which disallowed them to proceed with their appeal at the Court of Appeal, in a bid to set aside a High Court order that threw out their civil suit.

However, their counsel, Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, applied to the Federal Court today to allow his clients to amend the application, from a review of a Court of Appeal decision, to a leave to appeal.

Counsel Datuk Hafarizam Harun, representing Najib and Rosmah, said the court should not allow it as the proposed amendments were ineffectual and useless because the Court of Appeal's decision was not appealable.

Therefore, Santamil Selvi could not apply for leave to appeal to the Federal Court, he added.

Justice Raus dismissed the application by Santamil Selvi and her children on grounds that the reason advanced by their counsel was insufficient for the court to exercise its discretion to allow the amendments.

He said since their request to amend the review application was dismissed, the review application therefore could not stand and was also dismissed, and ordered them to pay a total of RM60,000 in costs to seven respondents, including Najib and Rosmah.

Santamil Selvi and her children B. Kishen, B Menaga and B. Reeshi filed the legal action for losses suffered during their stay out of the country for 56 months, from July 4, 2008, to March 15, 2013, when Balasubramaniam died of heart attack after returning from India.

They named Najib, Rosmah, Najib's younger brothers -- Datuk Ahmad Johari Abdul Razak and Datuk Mohd Nazim Abdul Razak, lawyer Tan Sri Cecil Abraham and his son Sunil Abraham, commissioner for oaths Zainal Abidin Muhayat, businessman Deepak Jaikishan and lawyer M. Arunapalam as defendants in the suit.

However, Deepak was not named a respondent in the review application.

In their statement of claim, she said her husband was forced to withdraw the first statutory declaration made on July 1, 2008, pertaining to certain facts in the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Santamil Selvi and her children had sought damages amounting to RM840,000, including for rental of an apartment in Chennai, India; the children's school fees and loss of income as a kindergarten teacher; housing loan, transport costs, general damages, special damages and costs.

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur, however, struck out their civil suit on Dec 11, last year without a full hearing after allowing the respondents' application to do so.

The Court of Appeal on April 24, this year upheld the High Court decision on the grounds that Santamil Selvi's notice of appeal was defective, prompting them to bring the matter to the Federal Court.

Outside the court, Hafarizam said Santamil Selvi's claim against his clients was over following the Federal Court's decision today.

Meanwhile, Santamil Selvi's appeal, in a bid to restore her civil suit against Deepak, would be heard by the Court of Appeal this Friday.

Deepak was not a respondent in Santamil Selvi's appeal in the Court of Appeal on April 24, this year.