The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on Friday remained mum on the way forward regarding the so-called ‘spy tapes’ case in which the high court denied it leave to appeal an earlier ruling to reinstate hundreds of corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma.

Zuma had also requested leave to appeal the court’s earlier ruling to set aside a previous NPA decision to drop corruption and racketeering charges against him.

"A decision will be made known within the proper time frame … there is presently no decision," spokesperson Bulelwa Makeke said on Friday.

Last week the North Gauteng High Court dismissed with costs the applications for leave to appeal its April judgement brought separately by the NPA and Zuma.

Delivering the unanimous ruling, Judge Aubrey Ledwaba said the court’s April judgement – that set aside the 2009 NPA decision to drop the 783 criminal charges of racketeering and corruption against Zuma – was clear on how and why it arrived at that decision.

"The applicants misinterpreted sections of the judgement or some selective sentences of the judgement. The fact that the public has an interest in the matter is not a justification to grant leave to appeal," said Ledwaba.

"The matter is of course important to Mr Zuma, however, if the appeal does not have reasonable prospects of success, leave to appeal should not be granted."

Petitioning the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein for the matter to be heard by another court remains an option for the NPA and Zuma.

However, the Democratic Alliance (DA), which first brought the matter to court in 2009, said it believed that a possible petition to the SCA would not succeed, and that Zuma would eventually stand trial.

The criminal charges were withdrawn by the then prosecutions head Mokotedi Mpshe shortly before the national elections that brought Zuma to power.

The high court’s April ruling found that Mpshe’s decision was irrational, and that he was under political pressure to withdraw the charges, which stemmed from the multi-billion rand arms deal signed a decade earlier.

Court records show that on 6 April 2009 Mpshe said transcripts of telephone conversations between Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy and former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka showed political interference in the decision to charge Zuma. The next day the charges were withdrawn.