Freelance journalist MGG Pillai's application to the Federal Court to review its decision to uphold a RM2 million award given against him in a defamation suit by businessman Vincent Tan was today postponed to a date to be fixed later.

Also adjourned was Tan's motion to strike out Pillai's application.

The Federal Court allowed the adjournment following an application by Tan's lawyer, VK Lingam, who said that he needed more time to file an affidavit in reply to a related matter.

Pillai's ground in requesting for the review is based on his claim that Federal Court which heard his appeal could have acted in bias following a known friendship between the then Chief Justice Eusoff Chin and Lingam, who acted for Tan. Eusoff was on the Federal Court panel which heard the appeal.

Fresh pages

The Federal Court had delivered a written judgment in July last year upholding the decision of the High Court which ordered Pillai to pay the amount to Tan.

The High Court in 1994 found Pillai guilty of defaming Tan in an article which he wrote in the Malaysian Industry magazine. Pillai and several other defendants were ordered to pay Tan damages amounting to RM10 million. Pillai's share was RM2 million.

Pillai and two others then appealed to the Court of Appeal which dismissed their appeal in 1995. A Federal Court panel, which included Chief Judge of Malaya Wan Adnan Ismail and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Chong Siew Fai, then heard Pillai's appeal in January 1998. A written decision was delivered last July, more than two years after it was heard.

Last week, following Pillai's application, Tan filed his own application to strike out Pillai's motion for the review claiming that that Pillai had tampered and falsified some of the documents pertaining to his case at the Federal Court.

Tan said numerous pages in Pillai's affidavit for a review of a court order had been removed from the file at the Federal Court and replaced with fresh pages.

He added that such an action constituted forgery and the court should investigate the level and extent of the participation of those involved in the tampering of the court documents.

Police investigations

Lingam told the court today the matter should be adjourned until police have investigated the allegations of forgery and tampering of the court documents.

He said that Tan had lodged a report against Pillai over the matter on Friday.

"We want an adjournment until the police have completed their investigations into this matter. Pillai has also alleged in his affidavit that a Federal Court registry staff had a hand in the matter. For the sake of justice, let's have transparency," he said.

The Federal Court, consisting of justices Steve Shim, Siti Norma Yaakob and Haidar Mohd Noor, however, did not allow the adjournment on this reason.

The adjournment was granted to allow Tan to file his affidavit in reply to object against another application made by Pillai to change his solicitors.

Counsel changing

Tan had earlier claimed in his previous affidavit that Pillai had not made proper applications to change his solicitors and as such the lawyers representing Pillai in this matter should not be recognised as his counsel.

Pillai then filed an affidavit stating that he had already made an application to change his solicitors.

Lingam told the court today that he was only given a copy of that affidavit late last week and that his client needed time to file his reply.

He said that the Rules of the Federal Court allowed his client seven days to file a reply and he would like the matter adjourned for this purpose.

Pillai's lawyers, led by M Sivalingam, did not object to the postponement.