KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Court will hear Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor's application to challenge the late Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram's appointment as the lead prosecutor in her RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project in Sarawak on March 26.
This is before the Court of Appeal (CoA) hears her appeal against her corruption conviction and sentence of 10 years in jail and RM970 million fine meted out in 2022.
Rosmah's defence counsel Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader said the Federal Court set March 26 to hear Rosmah challenge's to Sri Ram's appointment.
Akberdin said the date for the appeal in the CoA could not be set today.
"This is because the appeal at the Federal Court (challeging the appoint of Sri Ram) needs to be disposed of first before any hearing date in the CoA is fixed.
"The case mention in the CoA today is rescheduled to Feb 8. This is just a mention... no date has been fized for hearing," he said.
On July 7 last year, the appelate court allowed Rosmah's application to postpone her appeal hearing on the conviction and sentence over the RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.
A three-member bench led by Datuk Azizah Nawawi made the ruling during the hearing of the case.
Azizah said it was the first time the applicant (Rosmah) asked for postponement due to her pending appeal to nullify the appointment of the late lead prosecutor at the Federal Court.
The judge allowed the application since there was no objection from the prosecution.
Rosmah's counsel Datuk Jagjit Singh had said the postponement was to give way to his client's other appeal at the Federal Court in her bid to disqualify the fiat obtained by Sri Ram.
Sri Ram died on Jan 28 last year at the age of 79 in a private hospital here following a lung infection.
On Sept 1, 2022, then High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan 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.
It was a reward for helping Jepak Holdings secure a RM1.25 billion project to provide solar hybrid energy in 369 schools in rural Sarawak.
Her appeal is pending in the COA.
Rosmah has been released on RM2 million bail pending her appeal.