KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 — The High Court today struck out a petition filed by an investigating officer (IO) in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy case, to be admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya.

High Court judge Datuk Zaleha Yusof allowed the Bar Council’s notice of objection and notice of caveat against the admission of Judy Blacious s/o A F Pereira (better known as Jude Blacious Pereira) as an advocate and solicitor.

Counsel Pavendeep Singh representing the Bar Council told reporters that the court held that the Bar had the right to object to Jude’s admission as an advocate solicitor, and therefore allowed the Bar’s objection.

He said the court also made a consequential order for Jude’s petition for admission to be struck out.

“The court set today for decision after hearing submissions from both sides on the Bar’s objection. Basically the court agreed with our submissions,” he said.

In the submission, the Bar had submitted that it objected to Jude’s petition as findings of an inquiry by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) in a case involving the arrest of five lawyers during a candlelight vigil found that Jude was not a credible witness.

The Bar submitted that the panel of inquiry had concluded that the petitioner (Jude), who was the second highest ranking police officer on duty duirng the incident on May 7, 2009, had acted with mala fide.

It also said that the High Court Criminal judge in his decision had found that the petitioner as the IO in Anwar’s sodomy case, had tampered with evidence used in the trial.

The Bar, in its notice of objection, said that Jude as the petitioner had filed his petition for admission on July 23, 2012 and was short-called under Sections 36(2)(a) and (b) of the Legal Profession Act 1976 (LPA).

He, however, failed in the Ethics and Professional Standards course examination organised by the Bar Council on March 13 and 14 last year.

The Bar through its letter dated March 15 last year had informed the petitioner that it would be objecting to his admission as an advocate and solicitor on the ground that he was not a fit and proper person for admission to the Bar under Section 11 (1) of LPA. — Bernama