Three key leaders of Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) were today discharged without being acquitted by the Klang Sessions Court from the sedition charge they faced. 

Judge Zunaidah Mohd Idris ordered the discharge as the prosecution had failed to submit the original Tamil transcript of the alleged seditious remarks made by P Uthayakumar, P Waythamoorthy and VS Ganapathy Rao.

The prosecution led by DPP Ishak Yusoff has also failed to get the Malay translation of the allegedly seditious speeches officially certified by relevant bodies.

“The court and the (defence) lawyers are not convinced that the speeches were seditious because the Malay translation is not clear.

“What is important is the actual Tamil text with a certified translation (into Malay). Is the prosecution basing the offence on the original words in Tamil or the translated version in Malay?

“I believe the gist of the offence is not stated here. I cannot see what (allegedly seditious words) the prosecution is focusing on,” Zunaidah said, before discharging the trio.

She, however, said the prosecution can recharge the three once the documentation has been sorted out.

They were originally charged last Friday under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act, based on police investigations pertaining to reports lodged against them in relation to their speeches made between 8.30am and 11.15pm at a forum in Batang Berjuntai, Selangor on Nov 16.

The offence is punishable with a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or a maximum jail sentence of three years, or both.

‘Return bail money’

Zunaidah had also ruled that bail money held by the court over the weekend was to be returned.

Hindraf legal adviser Uthayakumar and lawyer Ganapathy had posted bail of RM800 each on Friday, but chairperson Waythamoorthy had refused the bail offer as a mark of protest.

The trio were represented by a team of lawyers including M Manoharan, A Sivanesan, S Surendran, Gobind Singh Deo, R Kenghadaran and M Kulasegaran.

Amer Hamzah Arshad and Ramdas Tikamdas appeared for the Bar Council and National Human Rights Society respectively.

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng were among political leaders who were present in court today.

A crowd of about 100 inside the courtroom erupted in cheers when the judge discharged the trio. They were then hoisted on the shoulders of supporters and paraded victoriously down Jalan Dato Hamzah – also known as Little India – bringing traffic to a standstill.

A larger crowd – estimated to be around 4,000 – had gathered at the nearby Padang Chetty watched by an equally strong presence of the Federal Reserve Unit. The crowd dispersed after several speeches were made by the Hindraf leaders.

During an impromptu press conference in front of the Sri Nagara Thandayuthapani temple adjacent to the field, Waythamoorthy broke his three-day hunger strike amidst cheers from supporters.

“It (fasting) was a good experience,” he told Malaysiakini with a smile.

His brother Uthayakumar insisted that he will “continue to speak the truth” and said he was not deterred by the sedition charge.