Collapse of Yaqut's Pre-Trial Objection: What is the KPK's Next Step?
A pre-trial ruling was delivered by sole judge Sulistyo Muhamad Dwi Putro in a hearing held on Wednesday, 11 March 2026. “With respect to the exception, we reject the respondent’s exception in its entirety. With respect to the merits, we reject the petitioner’s pre-trial application in its entirety,” the judge stated whilst delivering the ruling.
The judge found that the KPK had properly designated Yaqut as a suspect in the alleged hajj quota corruption case after gathering sufficient evidence. In his reasoning, the judge explained that suspect designation is within the investigator’s authority once it has obtained clarity of the existence of a criminal offence supported by a minimum of two valid pieces of evidence, as stipulated in Article 1 number 31 of Law Number 20 of 2025 concerning the Criminal Procedure Code.
The judge also cited Constitutional Court Decision Number 21 of 2014, which affirmed that pre-trial examination assesses only the formal aspects of suspect designation, namely whether at least two valid pieces of evidence exist, without delving into the substantive merits of the case.
The judge found that several pieces of evidence submitted by the petitioner lacked direct relevance to the case being examined. For instance, a collection of news articles from mass media was deemed merely informative and lacking evidentiary weight in judicial proceedings. Additionally, certain evidence in the form of legislation could not serve as evidence since legislation constitutes the legal basis rather than proof.
The judge also disregarded evidence consisting of a pre-trial decision from another district court. According to the judge, such a decision had not yet become jurisprudence or a legal principle established by the Supreme Court.
Accordingly, the KPK’s designation of Yaqut Cholil Qoumas as a suspect was deemed to have satisfied applicable legal provisions. The ruling paves the way for the Anti-Corruption Commission to continue its evidentiary process in the alleged hajj quota corruption case in which he stands as a suspect.
Asep Guntur Rahayu, Deputy for Prosecution and Enforcement at the KPK, stated that the South Jakarta District Court’s decision rejecting Yaqut’s pre-trial challenge opens the pathway for the KPK to proceed with the legal process to the next stage.