Attorney-General v Shahira Banu D/O Khaja Moinudeen

Case Significance

Attorney-General v Shahira Banu d/o Khaja Moinudeen [2024] SGHC 111 was decided by a Court of 3 Supreme Court Judges of the Republic of Singapore in Originating Application No 15 of 2023, with Sundaresh Menon CJ delivering the grounds of decision of the court on 2 May 2024, sitting with Steven Chong JCA and Andrew Phang SJ, following hearings on 22 January and 12 March 2024. The Attorney-General was the applicant and Shahira Banu d/o Khaja Moinudeen was the respondent. The matter was a legal profession disciplinary proceeding brought pursuant to sections 16(4) and 98 of the Legal Profession Act 1966, raising issues of admission to the profession and the duty of candour. In the introduction, Sundaresh Menon CJ emphasised that the administration of justice is not an abstract exercise nor the exclusive preserve of individual members of the judiciary, but depends on the interconnected operation of different parts of the legal system, within which advocates and solicitors have a special role as officers of the court. The applicant Attorney-General was represented by the Attorney-General's Chambers, including Jeyendran s/o Jeyapal; the respondent by Nakoorsha Law Corporation, including Nakoorsha bin Abdul Kadir; and the Law Society of Singapore by Allen & Gledhill LLP, including Sanjiv Rajan and Kenneth Lim Tao Chung.