KUALA LUMPUR: The search warrant issued by the Petaling Jaya magistrates’ court on April 4 in A Kugan’s case is valid and his mother’s application to set aside the warrant should be dismissed, the High Court heard yesterday.

Deputy public prosecutor Noorin Badaruddin, in her preliminary objection to N Indra’s application, said Indra had no locus standi (legal standing) to make the application because such application should come from the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).

“The search warrant was to facilitate police to carry out their investigation at the UMMC premises and such seizure was allowed under the law,” she said. If there was merit in Indra’s application, then Indra should have initiated civil proceedings rather than filing the application at the criminal court, she said.

“Our contention is that the search warrant issued by the lower court on April 4 did not involve any procee-dings which come under the revisionary powers of the High Court,” she said.

She added that there was no finding, sentence or order which needed to be reviewed by the high court.

On May 28, Indra filed a suit against the police for seizing documents and samples related to Kugan’s second autopsy from the UMMC Pathology Department chief’s office on April 6.

Kugan, 22, who was arrested in connection with the theft of luxury cars, died in police custody on Jan 20.

Indra’s counsel, N Surendran, said the magistrate’s act was indeed (a court) proceeding where the magistrate had exercised his judicial function in granting the order.

The respondent had misdirected themselves by contending that the magistrate’s action was more administrative in nature when the application was actually criminal in nature and the High Court could review the magis-trate’s decision under the Rules of the High Court 1980.

Justice Datuk Ghazali Cha fixed Aug 4 to deliver his decision on the preliminary objection.

— Bernama