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PETALING JAYA: Four office-bearers of the Malaysian Bar have filed a lawsuit against the police in the High Court for alleged breach of statutory duty in preventing a “walk for judicial independence” earlier this year.

Bar president Karen Cheah, deputy Ezri Abdul Wahab, secretary Anand Raj and treasurer Murshidah Mustafa claimed that the police had violated provisions under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 and imposed conditions that were unlawful to prevent the walk on June 17.

The Bar’s walk was organised to voice its dissatisfaction over alleged intimidation towards the judiciary, particularly by way of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation into Court of Appeal judge Nazlan Ghazali.

An estimated 500-strong crowd of lawyers had gathered at Padang Merbok that day for a march to Parliament to submit a memorandum calling on the government to uphold judicial independence.

“The police have a duty to facilitate an assembly after being notified under the Peaceful Assembly Act but, instead, they prevented the walk,” they said in the statement of claim.

They named Dang Wangi police chief Noor Dellhan Yahaya, police officer Nuzulan Din as well as the home ministry and the government as co-defendants.

The Bar said the police have no authority to set conditions under the law.

Besides that, the office-bearers alleged that the police had violated their constitutional rights by stopping the walk, and “falsely restraining” them for 30 minutes.

They said they were prevented from leaving the Padang Merbok car park.

“The number of police officers outnumbered the plaintiffs and they formed a human chain in order to prevent the plaintiffs from leaving the car park.

“They also prevented the plaintiffs and participants from moving anywhere and, consequentially, the plaintiffs and participants were forcibly confined in the car park,” they said.

The office-bearers are seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages as well as RM19,949 in special damages, which is the cost the Bar spent on printing placards, banners, caps, buttons, badges and others.

The High Court has fixed Jan 12 for next case management.

Malaysian Bar members had negotiated with the police at the scene but talks broke down after the authorities said only 20 lawyers were allowed to march to the Parliament building, a condition which the Bar rejected.

The lawyers tried to go ahead with the march but failed to break through the police barricade formed at both ends of the Padang Merbok car park.

Then deputy law minister Mas Ermieyati Samsudin later arrived at the scene and accepted the memorandum from Cheah. She said she would hand it over to then prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and former law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.