APPEALS COURT DISMISSES UNISEL’S APPEAL TO OBTAIN LEAVE TO CHALLENGE RM280,000 INDUSTRIAL COURT AWARD

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- The Court of Appeal today dismissed an appeal by Universiti Selangor (Unisel) to obtain leave to commence a judicial review to quash an Industrial Court award of RM280,875 to a former associate professor for constructive dismissal.

The three-member bench comprising Court of Appeal judges Datuk Supang Lian, Datuk Dr Shahnaz Sulaiman and High Court judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh, upheld the High Court’s decision.

Justice Amarjeet, delivering the court’s decision, said the High Court had committed no error of law and saw no reason for the appellate court to intervene.

The court also ordered Unisel to pay RM15,000 in legal costs to the former associate professor in the Faculty of Business, Mohd Fuad Mohd Salleh.

Mohd Fuad, 63, was awarded RM280,874.03 in back wages and compensation in lieu of reinstatement by the Industrial Court on Oct 27, 2022, after it ruled that he had been constructively dismissed.

The Industrial Court had awarded Mohd Fuad a sum of RM97,979.31 in compensation in lieu of reinstatement and RM182,894.72 in back wages. 

The university had initially challenged the Industrial Court’s decision by filing an appeal at the High Court on Nov 3, 2022.

The High Court, on Oct 24, 2023, struck out the appeal, ruling that the university had pursued the wrong legal avenue as the proper procedure was to file for a judicial review rather than an appeal.

The university subsequently filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal. While that appeal was pending, Unisel filed an application at the High Court on December 8, 2023, seeking leave to commence judicial review proceedings. 

The then High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Md Shahid (now Court of Appeal judge) dismissed the application on Nov 28, 2024, citing duplicity of proceedings and noting that the application was filed 43 days late, beyond the three-month statutory limit. The court also denied Unisel’s application for an extension of time to file the application, finding the university had provided no good reason.

Following the High Court’s decision, Unisel filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, which was heard by the panel today.

In today’s proceedings, lawyers Mohamed Ibrahim K.P Kunji Mohamad and Nor Aziah Harun acted for Unisel, while lawyer Mohd Jamil Yaacob represented Mohd Fuad.

-- BERNAMA