A High Court can set aside its own prior judgment under exceptional circumstances related to natural justice, provided the judgment is found void.

[1] This judgment is prepared pursuant to s 78(1) of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 , as Justice Zaharah Ibrahim then Chief Judge of the High Court of Malaya and Justice Aziah binti Ali FCJ had since retired. My learned sister Justice Alizatul Khair Osman Khairuddin FCJ, had read this judgment in draft and agreed that this judgment be our judgment. My learned sister Justice Rohana Yusuf FCJ, had also read this judgment in draft and agreed that this be our judgment and she had written a supporting judgment.

[2] For convenience, the parties will be referred to as they were in the High Court. This case concerns the appeal by the 2nd and 3rd defendants against the decision of the Court of Appeal which had, on 6 February 2017 dismissed their appeal against the decision of the High Court which allowed the plaintiff's claim against them.

[3] The background facts leading to the present appeal are these. The original proprietor of a piece of land known as hak milik Geran No GM 175, Lot Number 752, Mukim Ijok, Daerah Kuala Selangor, Selangor (the land) was Tan Yew Lim (TYL) who was the 1st defendant's father. TYL passed away on 23 October 1995. TYL and Tan Tuan Kam (TTK) were brothers. The 2nd defendant was the wife of TTK. The 3rd defendant was the son of TTK and the 2nd defendant. TTK had also passed away.

[4] It is not disputed the plaintiff had purchased the land from the 1st defendant by a sale and purchase agreement (S&P) dated 27 January 2005 for a consideration of RM300,000.00 which was fully paid. The land was transferred to and registered in the plaintiff's name on 27 June 2005.

[5] According to the 1st defendant, he had inherited the land from his late father (TYL). This is evident from the distribution order dated 22 December 1997.

[6] The 2nd defendant and the 3rd defendant claimed that the land was bought by TTK but registered in TYL's name as TTK wanted to assist TYL who was then unemployed with no source of income to support his family. TYL promised TTK that the title to the land would be transferred to TTK later. TTK's family developed the land and shared the proceeds from the income obtained from rubber trees, palm oil and fruit trees which were planted on the land before the 1st defendant was born in 1972. The 2nd and 3rd defendants claimed that on 30 September 1995, in the 1st defendant's presence, TYL signed Form 14A to transfer the land to the 2nd defendant. The 1st defendant subsequently entered a caveat on the land as a result of which the Form 14A was rejected by the Land Office.

[7] On 24 September 2004, the 2nd defendant filed a Civil Suit No: 21211-2004 (the 2004 case) against the 1st and 4th defendants seeking for the Court's order to declare that the land was at all material time vested in her, for the 1st defendant to transfer the land to her, and for any caveat entered by the 1st defendant to be revoked.

[8] On 16 December 2010, the 2nd defendant (as the plaintiff in the 2004 case) obtained a judgment in default in that case against the 1st defendant for the latter's failure to attend the Court and comply with the Court's direction to appoint a lawyer to represent him. The High Court made the following order:

"Mahkamah mengistiharkan bahawa tanah EMR 15, Geran 752 di daerah Ijok, Kuala Selangor adalah pada semua masa yang material kepunyaan plaintif kerana plaintif memiliki, memajukan dan mengerjakan tanah tersebut tanpa gangguan daripada pemilik berdaftar dahulu Tan Yew Lim sehingga kematian beliau."

[9] On 5 April 2011, based on the said judgment in default, a consent order was entered between