Abdul Wahab Patail J:

The charge against Mohamed Ezam bin Mohd Nor ('the accused') under s. 4 of the Seditions Actfor uttering words having a seditious tendency was transferred to the High Court under s. 418A of the Criminal Procedure Code. The case was mentioned before me on 21 March 2001 when the charge was read to the accused who claimed to be tried.

On the mention date to set down the dates for trial, counsel for the accused informed the court that he wished to make a preliminary objection on behalf of the accused. When asked the nature of the preliminary objection, the court was informed that the objection was on the charge itself.

At that point I had brought to the attention of learned counsel that Datuk Abdul Gani Patail signed the charge, disclosed that he is my brother, and suggested that therefore it may be improper for me to hear submissions in objection upon a charge signed by him. In all humility I was gratified by the assurance of counsel that he and the accused had no objections. Nevertheless, I had reservations as to the propriety and I was reluctant to proceed with hearing of the preliminary objections. I told counsel to discuss the matter first with his c