The Kuala Lumpur High Court will deliver its decision on former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s application to strike out parts of Utusan Malaysia’s defence on June 28.

This pertains to Anwar’s defamation suit against former Permatang Pauh Umno candidate Mazlan Ismail, Utusan and TV3, which is being presided by Judge John Louis O Hara.

After hearing submissions from Anwar’s lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo and Utusan’s lawyer Azhar Arman Ali today, the judge said he has made up his mind about the application.

“I have made a decision, but I will need to retire for now and come back to deliver the decision – not the grounds (of judgment) but just the decision – once I put the words together in a coherent form,” the judge said.

Anwar and Mazlan were both candidates in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency during the 13th general election in 2013.

The PKR de facto leader is suing Mazlan over the latter’s claims that he had bribed judges and prosecutors.

TV3 and Utusan are being sued by him for republishing Mazlan’s allegations.

He is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages on grounds that the words are defamatory and malicious, which reflected him as a person without ethics, is corrupt, having engaged in criminal activities, as well as a dishonest and immoral person.

In his application today, Anwar sought to strike out three paragraphs of Utusan’s defence that cited Anwar’s Sodomy II conviction in February last year.

Sangeet pointed out that under Section 43 of the Evidence Act, a judgment or ruling from a criminal proceeding is not admissible in civil proceedings, and this clause has been upheld in several previous court cases.

In addition, she said the Sodomy II conviction was in 2015, which is long after the time when the allegedly defamatory words were uttered on Aug 2, 2013.

Azhar countered that the previous cases pertained to relatively unknown persons, whereas Anwar’s Sodomy II trial was well publicised.

The proceedings would tend to show to the public that Anwar is of a bad character, he said, and this ought to at least lessen the damages payable if the court does find Utusan liable for defamation.