KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 -- The High Court here today allowed the application by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, and Baling MP Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim to strike out a suit filed by Carpet Raya Sdn Bhd director J. R. Deepak Jaikishan over taxes incurred for allegedly acting as proxies for the couple.
Lawyer Datuk David Mathews, representing Najib and Rosmah, told reporters that Judicial Commissioner Quay Chew Soon made the decision after hearing the striking-out application in his chambers.
Also present were lawyer Datuk Prem Ramachandran and Arwinder Kumar who acted for Abdul Azeez, while Irzan Iswat Mohd Noor and Nasbal Harun represented Deepak and two other plaintiffs, Carpet Raya and Deepak’s younger brother J. Rajesh, who is also the director of the company.
Mathews said the court allowed the defendants’ application on grounds that the plaintiffs' case is obviously unsustainable.
“The statement of claim does not disclose a reasonable cause of action as the essential elements to sustained the claims for conspiracy to injure, misfeasance in public office and breach of duty of care,” he said.
The lawyer said the court ordered the plaintiffs to pay RM15,000 in costs for the couple and RM10,000 for Abdul Azeez.
The defendants filed the application on Sept 24, 2019, on grounds that the suit was vexatious and the plaintiffs had no cause of action to sue them.
In the suit filed on Nov 15, 2018, Deepak claimed that between 2004 and 2010, he and the company had acted as agent and proxy to Najib and Rosmah in land transactions and business deals as instructed by the couple.
He also claimed that Abdul Azeez had acted as agent for Najib and Rosmah to carry out the transactions and acted as the intermediary between the couple and Carpet Raya.
Deepak claimed that as a result of the transactions, he received a letter from the Inland Revenue Board (IRB), dated March 2, 2018, to settle the arrears in tax owed by Carpet Raya and his income tax, totalling more than RM6 million, excluding penalty charges and interest.
Deepak claimed that he received the letter from IRB after his relations with the couple soured in 2012 following his refusal to follow their instructions in a civil case involving private investigator P. Balasubramaniam, claiming that Abdul Azeez had knowledge of the matter.
The plaintiffs claimed that Najib and Rosmah also ordered legal action to be taken by IRB against Carpet Raya and a winding-up petition was filed against the company on March 22, 2017, by the IRB and the petition was published in newspapers.
They claimed that as a result of the petition, the business and reputation of all the plaintiffs were affected and Deepak was also banned from leaving the country, while their business facilities were withdrawn by Maybank and the company's contract with IKEA was cancelled.
They are seeking a court declaration that Najib and Rosmah are responsible for paying the tax arrears owed by the company.
They are also seeking damages of RM500,000 which was paid to Maybank, RM47 million for the company's inability to fulfil its contract and sales, RM74 million for cancellation of the company's contract with IKEA, RM200 million for alleged defamation and RM37 million in losses caused by Najib’s alleged misconduct.
They are also seeking RM100 million in aggravated and exemplary damages.
-- BERNAMA
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