The six men charged with the murder of Babita Deokaran feel they have become victims of a malfunctioning criminal justice system - after it was revealed at their appearance on Tuesday at the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court that the machines used to record proceedings were not working.

Nhlangano Ndlovu, Siphakanyiswa Dladla, Zitha Radebe, Simphiwe Mazibuko, Sanele Mbele and Phakamani Radebe, who have been in custody for over a month, were to apply for bail when the revelation was made.

Their lawyer, advocate Peter Wilkins, submitted that there were alternative methods such as the old longhand system or mechanical recording via disc that could be used to record the proceedings.

"We submit that there are alternatives. The accused feel that they are being failed by the criminal justice system.

"The accused have been in custody for more than a month; the accused feel that they have become victims of a malfunctioning criminal justice system," he said.

In response, prosecutor, advocate Steven Rubin, stated that the court was compelled to keep a record of the proceedings.

Rubin further raised concerns that the longhand record could be disputed at a later stage in the matter based on technicalities and minor issues.

"We can't abandon procedure on the basis of urgency. Justice rushed may be justice obscured; we submit that the bail application must proceed on the record," he said.

In his ruling, Magistrate Simon Sibanyoni dismissed the application, stating that longhand was out of question for this court as it was unreliable.

"Longhand and discs is not for this court, therefore what the defence is requesting is not successful.

"What is happening is beyond the court's control, the court is ready to deal with the bail application, but its hands are tied.

"This is a unique situation faced by the magistrate's court and this doesn't necessarily mean that quality should be abandoned; we need to have a proper record of these proceedings and therefore the application is dismissed," he said.

The matter was subsequently postponed to 2 November.

Deokaran, 53, was gunned down while sitting in her car outside her home in Winchester Hills on 23 August. She had just returned from dropping her teenage daughter at school when gunmen opened fire on her car.

It was later revealed that she was a witness in the Special Investigating Unit's investigation into personal protective equipment tender fraud amounting to more than R300-million in the Gauteng health department, News24 reported.