An appeal against a High Court judge’s ruling to hear the case on when a by-election in Hougang should be called was filed by theAttorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) on Thursday, according to various media reports.
View PhotoThe April 16 hearing on the Hougang by-election may be delayed by a follow-up appeal by the Attorney-General. (Yahoo! file photo)
Judge Philip Pillai earlier on Tuesday granted the application of Hougang resident Vellama Marie Muthu asking the High Court to determine the Prime Minister’s discretionary powers in calling for a by-election in the single-member constituency of Hougang.
The hearing for her application was set for April 16, but this may be delayed as the High Court cannot proceed unless the Court of Appeal has heard the AGC’s appeal, reported Channel NewsAsia.
Objecting to AGC’s appeal, Vellama’s lawyer, M Ravi, said on Thursday that it should not be heard until after Pillai had issued the grounds for his ruling.
At the heart of the Hougang case are questions of whether the Prime Minister has the option to call a by-election, and when he should call one in situations where a parliamentary seat is made vacant for various reasons.
Last Friday, AGC chief counsel David Chong had argued that since Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had already said, on 9 March, that he “intend[s]” to call a by-election in the vacated seat of Hougang, there “is no executive decision that could legitimately be the subject of a judicial review.”
Chong also argued that “a court’s power to intervene in an act of the Executive is premised… on there being a controversy requiring such intervention.” He said that “[there] is no such controversy in the present case.”
M Ravi submitted that the Prime Minister’s words – that he will decide “whether and when” to call a by-election in Hougang – had thrown up questions about his discretionary powers under the law.
M Ravi also took issue with the Prime Minister’s other statement – that he “intends” to call a by-election in Hougang. This showed that the Prime Minister thought he had the option in calling a by-election, M Ravi said.
The PM could, he argued, cancel plans for a by-election in Hougang if the PM chose to. An intention is not the same as a mandatory act required under the law, he explained, which the calling of a by-election is.
- With background from Andrew Loh
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