KUALA LUMPUR — The High Court today directed businessman J. Deepak to serve his third party notice on former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and seven others to reinstate their names in the suit filed by the widow of the late private investigator P. Balasubramaniam, better known as PI Bala.
Lawyer K.Vinod, who is representing Deepak ,46, told reporters that on July 25 this year, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal by Najib and seven others, who were the defendants in the suit, except Deepak to strike out the suit filed by Bala’s widow A. Santamil Selvi and her three children.
“Now that the defendants (Najib and seven others) are out of the suit, my client Deepak has no choice but to take out the third party proceeding to bring them in … (in the suit) by taking up the third party proceeding it will give us a better understanding of the whole suit,” he told reporters after case management before Judge Datuk Azimah Omar in chambers.
The lawyer said the court directed them to serve the third party notice on all the parties and fixed Nov 23 for the next case management to update the court on the status of the third party notice.
“The court has asked us to serve the documents before the judge gives leave as the court finds there is a slightly peculiar situation because they (defendants) were parties before and now they are no longer parties in the suit,” he said.
On July 23 last year, Santamil Selvi and her three children B. Kishen, B. Menaga and B. Reeshi filed the second lawsuit on behalf of her late husband against the nine defendants.
Apart from Najib, his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and Deepak, the other six defendants were Najib’s brothers Datuk Mohd Nazim and Datuk Ahmad Johari, lawyers Tan Sri Cecil Abraham and Sunil Abraham, lawyer Arulampalam Mariampillai and commissioner for oaths Zainal Abidin Muhayat.
Bala was a key witness in the trial of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu. He died of a heart attack on March 15, 2013, weeks after returning from India.
In the statement of claim, Santamil Selvi and her children claimed that they had to move to India due to the second statutory declaration made by Bala over the murder of the Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu and said they stayed in India for 56 months from July 4, 2008, until Bala’s death.
Santamil Selvi and her children are seeking RM840,000 in damages, including the rental of an apartment in Chennai, India, school fees and the loss of income as a kindergarten teacher, housing loan, transportation cost, general and special damages and costs.
On Jan 30 this year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court rejected the applications by the eight defendants to strike out the second lawsuit filed by Santamil Selvi. However, they succeeded in their appeal at the Court of Appeal to set aside the High Court ruling.
Deepak has now filed the third party application to include the other eight defendants in the suit.
— BERNAMA
