BALINEWSID.COM, DENPASAR — The pretrial hearing filed by the Head of the Bali Provincial Office of the National Land Agency (Kakanwil BPN), I Made Daging A. PTNH., S.H., against the Special Criminal Investigation Directorate (Ditreskrimsus) of the Bali Police has continued to draw public attention.
The case, registered under Number 1/Pid.Pra/2026/PN.Dps, has now entered the conclusion stage, with both parties submitting their final arguments during a public hearing held at the Denpasar District Court on Friday (February 6, 2026). The hearing was presided over by Single Judge I Ketut Somanasa.
During the session, the petitioner’s legal team from Berdikari Law Office, coordinated by Gede Pasek Suardika, S.H., M.H., together with I Made “Ariel” Suardana, S.H., M.H. from LABHI Bali Law Office, firmly asserted that the case against their client reflects an act of criminalization against a state administrative official.
The defense argued that the designation of I Made Daging as a suspect lacks a valid legal basis, as investigators continue to rely on Article 421 of the old Criminal Code (KUHP).
According to the legal counsel, since the enactment of Law Number 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code, the article in question is no longer legally applicable.
“Our legal opinion is based on Articles 71, 72, 73, and 74 of the new Criminal Code Law, which regulate the enactment process and legal force of legislation. Once a law has been promulgated, all citizens, including law enforcement officers, are obliged to recognize it as valid,” the defense stated before the court.
The lawyers emphasized that Law Number 1 of 2023 was promulgated on January 2, 2023, meaning that from that date the law has legally come into force, even though its full implementation is scheduled to take effect three years later.
“Article 624 indeed regulates a three-year transitional period. However, that concerns technical implementation, not whether the law is alive or dead. Article 421 of the old Criminal Code was not adopted into the new Criminal Code, and therefore it can no longer serve as a legal basis for naming someone a suspect,” the defense stressed.
Furthermore, the legal team referred to Article 3 paragraph (2) of the new Criminal Code, a Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) circular dated January 1, as well as Supreme Court Circular Letter (SEMA) Number 1 of 2026, which they claim explicitly instructs law enforcement to terminate legal proceedings based on provisions that are no longer valid.
“Since January 2, investigators were legally obliged to halt this case. The fact that the legal process has continued indicates an abuse of authority,” the lawyer argued.
He added that the existence of evidence becomes irrelevant if the elements of a criminal offense are no longer fulfilled.
“No matter how much evidence there is, it is meaningless if the criminal provision itself is no longer applicable. There is no crime that can be proven,” he said.
During the hearing, the defense also touched on the issue of land mafia practices, referring to a statement by Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of BPN, Nusron Wahid, who described land-related crimes as complex and involving multiple parties.
However, the legal team emphasized that for the object of this particular case, an assessment had already been conducted by the Land Mafia Prevention Task Force in 2018, with conclusions signed by representatives of both the Bali Police and BPN.
“That assessment document exists. If it cannot be found today, it is worth questioning where the archive has gone,” he stated.
In closing, the defense acknowledged that differences in legal interpretation are normal, but maintained that, from a juridical standpoint, the case against I Made Daging has no legal grounds to proceed.
“From any legal perspective, this case should be terminated,” the counsel concluded. (FF)