Rosli Dahlan, who represented Borders store manager Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz and controversial academician Kassim Ahmad in tough legal battles, the lawyer will face his toughest test yet tomorrow.

This will be on Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail's appeal to strike out his RM47 million suit for malicious prosecution.

With tomorrow being April 1, Rosli must be wondering whether it would be an “All Fools Day” for him during the high-profile suit in the Court of Appeal tomorrow, in which Gani, former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamad are named as defendants in their personal capacities.

The suit or case in relation to what is known as the “Copgate affair” was filed by Rosli in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur in 2013.

Last April, High Court judge Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera dismissed Gani's application to strike out the suit on the stinging grounds that the AG “ is not immune to legal action ”.

Justie Vazeer Alam said in his judgment that the notion of absolute immunity for a public servant, even when mala fide or abuse of power in the exercise of their prosecutorial power is alleged in the pleadings, is anathema to modern day notions of accountability.

"I agree that deliberate abuse of power by a person holding a public office is tortious and is referred to as misfeasance in public office.

"Such a tortious act can arise when an officer actuated by malice, for example, by personal spite or a desire to injure for improper reasons, abuses his power," Justice Vazeer Alam wrote.

"This is keeping with developments in modern jurisprudence that absolute immunity for public servants has no place in a progressive democratic society," the judge added.

Despite Justice Vazeer Alam's strong ruling on April 11 last year, the matter tomorrow, which is expected to see high profile witnesses testifying, may not take off as a result of the appeal filed by Gani, who is represented by senior lawyer Cecil Abraham.

Besides naming Gani, Musa and Abu Kassim in their personal capacities, Rosli also named two others - former MACC prosecution head Nordin Hassan, who later rose to become the deputy head of prosecution in the AG’s Chambers and is now a judicial commissioner and MACC prosecution deputy head Anthony Kevin Morais.

Many judges recusing themselves

It is understood many Court of Appeal judges have recused themselves from hearing the matter, and this has created more uncertainty in the appeal by the AG and others, which is to be heard before a special panel.

Many judges with the appellate court, who were previously attached to the AG’s Chambers have chosen not to hear the case.

Besides Rosli ( right ), former police Commercial Crime Investigations Department director, Ramli Yusuf, has also, in 2013, filed a separate RM128.5 million suit against Gani, Musa, Abu Kassim and several other MACC officers for malicious prosecution.

Ramli, along with Rosli, had obtained a dismissal of Gani's strike-out application when both their suits were heard together and involved the same matter.

The Copgate affair

The Copgate affair of 2007 refers to the government's move to clamp down on illegal money lenders or the ‘Ah Long’ menace, where a joint operation saw Ramli heading the operation., Ramli arrested Goh Cheng Poh, who is also referred to as ‘Tengku Goh’ and sent him to restricted residence in Jeli, Kelantan.

Tengku Goh is allegedly close to Musa, and following that Goh filed a habeas corpus application with the support of Musa in saying the arrest did not get the IGP's approval.

While Ramli and his men, along with then deputy home minister Johari Baharom, tried to file an affidavit against the habeas corpus application, the AG’s Chambers led by Gani did not want to help draft the affidavits in reply.

This resulted in Rosli being pulled in to draft the affidavits for the deputy home minister, Ramli and the others. Eventually, the habeas corpus application was allowed, but action was taken against six officers under Ramli who were involved in the arrest of Tengku Goh. They were charged and suspended from service.

A case was also made against Ramli, whom the MACC alleged to be the RM27 million cop. He was charged by the MACC's predecessor, the Anti-Corruption Agency, for failing to provide particulars on his assets.

Rosli, who is close to Ramli, was also hauled in earlier and charged with not abiding by the ACA's order to provide particularisation of his assets.

Ramli, his six officers and Rosli were all acquitted of the charges framed against them. The six men who arrested Goh were all reinstated into the police force. All this prosecutions took place as Gani, Musa and Abu Kassim were in public service.

Against this backdrop Gani's bid to strike out both suits will be heard in the Court of Appeal tomorrow, where Rosli, who is seen fighting for justice for Nik Raina and Kassim, is himself unsure if he will get justice in his own suit.