Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's (UKM) application to compel student activist Asheeq Ali Sethi Alivi to pay RM50,000 in security of costs was dismissed by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur today.

UKM had sought RM50,000 from Asheeq before his suit to challenge the university's decision to suspend him was heard.

"Their reason is they are worried if he loses the case he cannot pay the costs," Asheeq's lawyer A Surendra told reporters after the hearing today.

"What they are asking is if he cannot pay RM50,000 before the hearing that means the hearing will not proceed."

Justice S Nantha Balan, who heard the case in chambers, dismissed the application as Asheeq's suit against UKM was a "public interest litigation".

"It involves important constitutional questions and there are serious issues to be tried. He (the judge) decided that this application was an attempt to stifle the main action and on that ground he dismissed it," Surendra said.

The court also found that there was no tangible evidence that his client would not be able to pay the costs if he were to lose the case, he added.

"The only fact they are relying on is because he's a student."

Surendra also confirmed that his client was then awarded RM3,000 in costs.

The hearing for the third-year UKM law student's suit will proceed on May 19 and will be heard together with the lawsuit that four Universiti Malaya students (UM4) filed against their university.

In their originating summons filed on Dec 27 last year, the students stated that they were found guilty of participating in the Tangkap MO1 rally in Kuala Lumpur last August.

Three of them were subsequently fined and suspended while another one escaped with just a fine.

Asheeq, on the other hand, was also suspended for one semester and fined RM200 for his involvement in the Tangkap MO1 rally.

The university's disciplinary board cited Section 3 and Section 13 of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (Discipline of Student) Rules 1999, claiming that Asheeq had tarnished the university's reputation and broken the law by taking to the streets.

On Dec 14, Asheeq challenged the constitutionality of "tarnishing the reputation" as stipulated under UKM's rules, which was formulated under the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA).

UKM, the Higher Education Ministry and the government were named as defendants.