Veteran lawyer Karpal Singh wants the attorney-general, who is also the public prosecutor, to direct the police to investigate MIC treasurer-general V Ramanan for cheating, following yesterday's order to Ramanan by High Court in Kuala Lumpur to pay back RM5.5 million to psychiatrist Dr M Mahadevan.

Alternatively, Karpal wants the High Court, which ruled that Ramanan committed fraud against Mahadevan, to take the necessary action against the MIC treasurer-general.

“The matter is a serious one, having regard to the large sum of money involved. That Ramanan is the MIC treasurer-general compounds the decision,” the veteran lawyer said in a statement.

“The AG, as the public prosecutor, should, in the public interest, direct the police to investigate with a view of charging Ramanan with cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code, in the event there is sufficient evidence forthcoming for him to do so,” Karpal said.

He said the law covered everybody, one no matter how high the position a person holds, as no one can escape the long arm of the law.

Yesterday, Judicial Commissioner Lee Heng Cheong found Ramanan had misrepresented himself to Mahadevan and ordered the MIC treasurer-general to pay the amount within 14 days. However, the court allowed Ramanan's application for a temporary stay of the order.

Lee ruled that Ramanan had misrepresented himself by saying that he could assist the 85-year-old Mahadevan to retrieve a RM26.6 million debt from the Defence Ministry for using the psychiatrist's land in Sungei Petani, Kedah, as a firing range between 1968 and 1988.

During proceedings, the court found that Ramanan produced a forged letter from the ministry giving the assurance that payment would be made, prompting Mahadevan, the founder of the Malaysian Psychiatrists Association, to pay the RM5.5 million into Ramanan's personal account on May 19, 2010.

The judicial commissioner also ruled that Ramanan had failed to prove, as he claimed in his statement of defence, that the money was purportedly for a proposed township development project in Sungei Petani.