Former Federal Court Judge Gopal Sri Ram Passed At The Age Of 79
Gopal Sri Ram has had an illustrious career ever since he got called to the Malaysian Bar in May 1970.
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Former Federal Court judge and senior deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram has passed at the age of 79, as confirmed by a source to Free Malaysia Today.
Sri Ram was previously warded in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur on 15 January for a lung infection.
He had an illustrious career and worked in some of the biggest cases in Malaysia.
Sri Ram was born on 16 August 1943 in Kuala Lumpur. He worked as a teacher before leaving the country to read law in the United Kingdom.
He was called to the Malaysian Bar in May 1970 and practised law until he was elevated to the Court of Appeal in September 1994. He was the first practitioner in Malaysia to be elevated directly to an appellate court.
He served as an Appeal Court judge for 15 years before being promoted to the Federal Court.
Throughout his career, he wrote about 800 judgements while sitting in the Court of Appeal and Federal Court. He also wrote landmark judgements in criminal, constitutional, administrative, and commercial cases.
Sri Ram retired from the bench in 2010 but returned to practice law. He was appointed in 2018 by then attorney-general Tommy Thomas to lead the prosecution in the 1MDB-related cases and Rosmah’s graft case.
The Honorary Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn was also the lead prosecutor in the 1MDB corruption trial involving former prime minister Najib Razak and in the RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project corruption case involving Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, which are both still ongoing.
Sri Ram also represented Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim back in 2015.
Anwar was in his final appeal for allegedly sodomising former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Sri Ram took over the brief at the last minute when Anwar’s other lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah, fell ill.
He was known for delivering ex-tempore (on the spot) judgments, believing the principle that justice delayed is justice denied.
He is survived by his widow, Chandra Sri Ram, and their two adult children, a lawyer and a doctor.
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