PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has set June 24 to deliver its decision on the government’s appeal regarding the transfer of ownership of 263.272 acres of land in the Duta Enclave to Semantan Estate Sdn Bhd.
Court of Appeal senior assistant registrar Ahmad Izuddin Fajri Fakrullah fixed the date during the case management today.
Senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly@Arwi, representing the government, and lawyer Janet Chai Pei Ying, for Semantan Estate, confirmed the date when contacted by Bernama.
On Feb 20, this year, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal comprising Datuk Lee Swee Seng, Datuk Azimah Omar and Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, deferred their decision after hearing submissions from all parties involved.
The government is appealing the High Court’s decision on Aug 7 last year, which ordered the transfer of the land titles to Semantan Estate. The court had ruled in favour of Semantan Estate’s originating summons against the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur Land Registrar.
Semantan Estate, on the other hand, is appealing against another High Court decision, made in October 2021, which dismissed its judicial review application seeking to re-acquire the land.
The company is also appealing a subsequent High Court ruling granting a stay to the Land Registrar on the transfer of ownership to Semantan Estate.
The disputed land, located in the prime Jalan Duta area known as the Duta Enclave, houses government buildings that include the national hockey stadium, Malaysian Institute of Integrity, national archives, Kuala Lumpur Syariah Court, the Inland Revenue Board building and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Academy.
Semantan Estate’s legal battle began in 2003 when it sued the government, claiming the land was unlawfully acquired.
In 2009, Judicial Commissioner Zura Yahya ruled in favour of Semantan Estate that the government had unlawfully acquired the land. The government’s subsequent appeals at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court were unsuccessful.
In February 2017, Semantan Estate initiated a lawsuit against the Kuala Lumpur land registrar to enforce the 2009 High Court judgment.
