A five-member bench chaired by Chief Judge of Malaya Azahar Mohamed said the appeal was now academic as the party had conducted its elections at all levels.

Furthermore, he said, the 16 had no locus standi to bring the matter to court as they were no longer members of the party.

“In the circumstances, based on academic grounds, there is no necessity to answer the two leave questions posed,” said Azahar.

The others on the panel were Abdul Rahman Sebli, Hasnah Mohammed Hashim, Mary Lim Thiam Suan and Rhodzariah Bujang.

Azahar said the actual dispute in this case revolved around the extension of time given by the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to allow the party to conduct its internal elections.

“It also concerned a dispute which is a relationship (between the party and members), which is contractual in nature.”

He said that generally, the court would not interfere in the internal affairs of political parties as it was a domestic concern of members and the party.

“However, before us there were two preliminary points raised at the outset of the appeal.”

Azahar said there was merit in submissions by the lawyers for RoS and Umno that the appellants no longer had the locus standi and the matter had become academic.

“The appellants are no longer members of the political party as per the Umno constitution. Further, the party had completed its elections at all levels,” he said.

Umno Seri Merpati Pandan Indah’s then branch leader, Salihudin Ahmad Khalid, and 15 fellow members had sought leave for judicial review against RoS and Umno in 2018 on grounds the party had breached its constitution by delaying its elections.

Their membership was terminated on April 21, 2018 for going to court.

The group sought to question Umno’s legality, saying the party should hold elections every three years and that the leadership could only delay the polls for 18 months.

They said the party elections were scheduled to be held by Feb 28, 2018.

On Feb 27, 2018, then Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Mansor informed the media that the elections would be held at the latest by April 19, 2018, which they said was contrary to clause 10.16 of the party’s constitution.

The appellants said RoS’ decision, six days after Tengku Adnan’s statement, to allow a further extension pursuant to Section 13A(4) of the Societies Act, was “tainted with illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety”.

They said this had denied them the right to association while RoS had refused to give them any explanation when they wrote for clarification on the extension.

The 16 were represented by Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla. Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan and Liew Horn Bin represented RoS while Mohd Hafarizam Harun appeared for Umno.

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