The Federal Court, the highest court in the country, delivered a unanimous decision that Zambry Abd Kadir of BN is the rightful Perak menteri besar.

Shouts are heard outside the courtroom, with the Pakatan crowd shouting "Bubar DUN", "Zambry penakut", "tipu" and "rasuah".

Perak BN senior exco Hamidh Osman said: "I am grateful for the decision and hope everyone will accept it."

President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, led a five-member bench in delivering the verdict.

The others were Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Arifin Zakaria and Justices Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Abdull Hamid Embong of the Federal Court.

The Palace of Justice in Putrajaya has been a hive of activity since 7am, as people queued up to get their passes and into their seats in the courtroom. Scores of supporters have gathered.

The Federal Court had, on Nov 5 last year, heard Nizar's appeal and submission for more then six hours but defer its decision

The court had earlier dismissed Nizar's application for a full bench of 11 judges or an enlarged panel.

Judicial decisions

BN was seen to have usurped power in Perak when three Pakatan Rakyat assemblypersons switched sides to become BN-friendly Independents in February last year, leading to Pakatan seeking legal recourse.

On May 11, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim had ruled that Nizar is the rightful menteri besar.

"He is, and was, at all material times the chief minister of Perak," Abdul Aziz told the court.

However, the appellate court's three-member bench unanimously overturned the decision in favour of Zambry, saying that the High Court judge had failed to properly and adequately appreciate the entire evidence before him.

"We hold the view that the granting or the withholding of the request for the dissolution of the state legislative assembly is royal prerogative,” ruled Justice Md Raus Sharif.

Nizar was represented by a team of lawyers led by senior counsel Sulaiman Abdullah, while senior lawyer Cecil Abraham represented Zambry.