Pub owner’s family loses bid to appeal dismissal of unlawful murder suit

In a recent ruling, the Federal Court dismissed an appeal by the family of pub owner K Gobala Guru against the dismissal of their unlawful murder lawsuit against the police and government. The majority decision, made by Justices Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh and Collin Lawrence Sequerah, stated that the family failed to meet the legal requirements for further consideration by the apex court.

No constitutional issues were involved in the case, according to Terrirudin. Justice Che Ruzima Ghazali was the lone dissenter in the decision. The family had presented three legal questions regarding the appeal's time limit. Gobala was allegedly shot twice by policeman Amran Sali on February 2, 2013. Amran, as well as police officers Khairul Hafiz Yaacob, Azlan Abdul Kadir, Khairon Zaidee Basiron, and Zulfadli Dom, had tracked down Gobala after he stopped at a shop in Kuala Lumpur.

Amran is said to have shot Gobala before the group reportedly pushed his body down a hill. Gobala's body was never recovered. Three years ago, Gobala's wife, V Satiavani, and mother, V Panjalai, filed the lawsuit against the government and police for his alleged death. The High Court rejected their claim in 2024, ruling that the family was time-barred from filing the action since they should have initiated it in 2016.

The decision was confirmed by the Court of Appeal on March 9. The legal team representing the family was comprised of K Gobinath and Dalveena Korotana, while senior federal counsel Liew Horng Bin and Siti Syakimah Ibrahim represented the police and government.