HIDIR REDUAN
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court was told yesterday that it was MIC which wanted to hold fresh polls for all party positions resulting from a disputed 2013 elections.
Senior federal counsel Amarjeet Singh told judge Datuk Asmabi Mohamad yesterday that MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel conveyed this through a Feb 5 letter to the RoS.
Amarjeet - who acted for RoS in two bids to quash its directive for MIC to conduct re-elections - said Palanivel said in the letter that the party agreed with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on the need for fresh polls for all branches, divisions and all the way to the president's post.
Amarjeet noted that Palanivel admitted there were irregularities in the 2013 party polls results and had sought more time from the RoS to rectify the internal party issues.
"This (Feb 5) letter is irrefutable proof that the RoS and the MIC president was on the same page," Amarjeet said on the need for the party to conduct re-elections to resolve the 2013 polls controversy.
Palanivel's counsel R. Thayalan countered that the RoS acted beyond its legal power when it invalidated the 2013 results through a series of letters from Dec 5 last year until Feb 6.
Thayalan argued that the letters - through which the RoS directed the party to hold re-elections - were invalid as the letters were issued under Section 16(1) of the Societies Act 1966, which only empowered the RoS to ask a party to settle internal disputes within 30 days of notice.
He also submitted that the RoS has no power to make a finding on the alleged 2013 polls irregularities as Section 18B of the Act stated no party elections would be invalidated by mere failure to comply with the party's own regulation, among others.
Asmabi would deliver her verdict on June 15 to settle the issue whether MIC can maintain its 2013 polls results.
In early February, MIC strategic director A.K. Ramalingam and Palanivel filed their legal actions to set aside the RoS order issued over alleged irregularities in the party's Nov 30, 2013 polls.
Former MIC secretary-general A. Prakash Rao and party vice-presidents Datuk S. Sothinathan and Datuk S. Balakrishnan were also co-applicants in Palanivel's bid.