High Court judge R. K. Nathan abruptly adjourned for 10 minutes this morning on the application to stop the Bar Council from proceeding with Friday's emergency general meeting.

Earlier, Bar Council's lawyers, Arif Yusof, Ranjit Singh, Christopher Leong and Gopal Sreevasan, raised a number of preliminary objections including that judge Nathan "has a son who is a member of the Bar, and since the first defendant is the Malaysian Bar, there will be some elements of personal interest".

"Is it a fault that my son is a member of the Bar? I don't understand the point. You are scrapping the (bottom of the) barrel. Unless there is a deliberate attempt to dismiss this judge, I'm shocked that you can't see that this prejudice should be in your favour. Is it a sin for a judge to have a son as a lawyer?" asked Nathan, before calling for a 10-minute break.

Following a heated exchange, Nathan directed the defence lawyers to consult the Bar Council as to their allegation that he has an interest in this case.

Raja Segaran yesterday filed a suit seeking a declaration from the High Court that the Bar Council's meeting is illegal, and sought an interim injunction to prevent it from taking place.

The Bar Council is expected to convene an EGM of the Malaysian Bar on Friday with an intention to move a resolution calling for the suspension of Chief Justice Eusoff Chin pending a tribunal or royal commission of inquiry to investigate into allegations of impropriety against him.

Allegations against Eusoff were sparked off last month when de facto law minister Dr Rais Yatim gave a radio interview in Australia, saying that it is "improper behaviour" for a judge to holiday with a lawyer who appears in court cases before him.

Eusoff, who was photographed with prominent lawyer V.K. Lingam while on holiday in New Zealand in 1994, has claimed that their meeting was coincidental.

The hearing continues.