Karpal’s sedition case for next mention on April 22

The High Court here has set April 22 for mention of DAP chairman Karpal Singh’s sedition charge after he claimed trial here.
Karpal was alleged to have uttered seditious words during a media conference relating to Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah’s consent to remove Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as mentri besar.
He allegedly committed the offence at his law firm Messrs Karpal Singh & Co between noon and 12.30pm on Feb 6.
If convicted he faces a maximum RM5,000 fine or three years jail, or both, under Section 4 (1) (b) of the Sedition Act.
He was initially charged in the Sessions Court last Tuesday, but the case was transferred to the High Court.
The veteran lawyer had earlier arrived at the courthouse at 9.20am on Monday, accompanied by a large delegation of lawyers including his children Gobind Singh Deo, Sangeet Kaur Deo and Ram Karpal Singh.
The other lawyers included Sankaran Nair, Rajpal Singh, Teoh Lib Peng and K.A. Ramu. Three other members of the legal team -- Tommy Thomas, Malik Imtiaz and Jagdeep Singh Deo -- were absent.
The Bar Council’s Gerald Gomez also held a watching brief when the charge was read out to Karpal.
The court interpreter spent almost 30 minutes reading the charge, which also included a 10-page transcript of the media conference where he allegedly made the seditious comments.
As Judicial Commissioner Azman Abdullah was consulting deputy public prosecutor Manoj Kurup and Karpal for a suitable date for the hearing, the latter asked for the case to be mentioned in court first.
Manoj agreed and Justice Azman set the date for mention on April 22.
Outside the courtroom later, Karpal said he wanted the case to be mentioned first so that he could raise objections if he was unhappy with documents submitted by the prosecution team.