KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been ordered to return some 106.54ha of land near Jalan Duta, home to several government complexes, to a private company.
This is after a High Court on Tuesday approved the liquidator's request to transfer the land dubbed as Duta Enclave in Mukim Batu to Semantan Estate (1952) Sdn Bhd., The Edge reported.
The land is currently home to several government buildings, including the former National Hockey Stadium, the National Tennis Complex, the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia, the Federal Territory Mosque, the National Archives, and the Inland Revenue Board Complex.
Judge Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Salleh allowed the company's application, enforcing a 2009 court order that mandates the transfer of the land to its liquidator.
"The court orders the defendants to carry out the terms sought within three months of today," he said.
The court also dismissed the government's application to adjourn the hearing for three months pending a proposed settlement with the company.
Shahrir said the negotiations between the government and the company had been ongoing since 2013.
Senior federal counsels Mohammad Al-Saifi Hashim and Shamsul Bolhassan appeared for the government while lawyers Ira Biswas, Janet Chai Pei Ying, and Alexie Ng represented the company.
In 2010, the High Court ruled that the acquisition of the land owned by Semantan Estates was not lawfully executed and that the government had been a trespasser of the land.
The decision was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal on May 18, 2012 and on Nov 21, in the same year, the Federal Court refused the government leave to appeal against the decision effectively making the High Court ruling final and binding.
In 1956, the Selangor government declared that the land belonging to Semantan Estates was required for public purpose.
In 1989, Semantan Estates filed an action against the federal government for trespassing, claiming that the taking of possession of the land was unlawful and wrongful.