JUDGMENT

Hashim Yeop A Sani J:

On 16 March 1976, the Public Prosecutor purporting to exercise his power under s. 418A of the Criminal Procedure Code issued a certificate requiring the Sessions Court, Lumut to remove Warrant Case SC 21/76 and sixteen other cases involving the same accused, a Member of Parliament, then pending before the said Sessions Court to the High Court, Ipoh. In all the cases the accused is charged under s. 4(c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1961. The accused is now challenging the validity of the aforesaid s. 418A and the certificate purporting to be issued under it as infringing Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution. The question for decision is therefore whether s. 418A of the Criminal Procedure Code as inserted by Act A324 of 1976 is in violation of Article 8 of our Constitution relating to equality before the law and equal protection of the law and therefore void.

Section 418A in short provides that notwithstanding the provisions of s. 417 of the Criminal Procedure Code relating to the power of the High Court to transfer cases to itself or to another subordinate Court the PPexercising his power personally, may in any particular case triable by a