SINGAPORE - THE High Court on Monday reserved judgment on whether it should give permission to former law professor Tey Tsun Hang to apply for judicial review of his sacking from the National University of Singapore (NUS) last year.

Mr Tey, 42, was sacked on May 28 last year following his conviction on the same day of corruption for accepting gifts and sex from a student. However, in a stunning turnaround, he was acquitted on appeal to the High Court in February.

In June, he filed court papers seeking a judicial review of NUS' decision to sack him. Represented by lawyer M Ravi, he wants the court to quash the university's decision to sack him so that he can get his job back.

In a closed-door hearing on Monday, Mr Ravi argued that Mr Tey should be given permission to go ahead with the judicial review.

A judicial review is a procedure in which the court is asked to evaluate the decisions of public bodies. To filter out frivolous cases, the party challenging the decision first has to get permission from the court before the actual review can be heard.

After hearing arguments, the court reserved judgment and gave parties two weeks to file further written replies.

Mr Tey, who returned to Malaysia after serving his five-month jail term, was not in court, but Mr Ravi told reporters that he is in Singapore.