KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 — The owners of Crackhouse Comedy Club have mounted a court challenge to overturn the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) indefinite ban against them from registering any business in the capital and to reinstate the club’s business licence.
Owners Mohamad Rizal Johan Van Geyzel and Shankar R. Santhiram are currently seeking a judicial review following a controversial stand-up routine at the club in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur in July last year.
Their lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo of law firm Karpal Singh & Co told Malay Mail that the judicial review application was filed at the High Court here last November.
A check with the court’s e-filing system shows that case management has been set on January 26 at 9am before the High Court Special Powers Division deputy registrar.
Court cases typically go through case management before hearing dates are fixed.
In its court papers sighted by Malay Mail today, the club owners named BKL, KL mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah, former deputy Federal Territories minister Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias, the Federal Territories Ministry (which has been abolished by the Anwar administration), and the Malaysian government as respondents.
Both Rizal and Shankar are seeking several declarations from the court.
Firstly, that the decision by DBKL and Mahadi to terminate their business license is in direct violation of the law, unreasonable, unwarranted, unconstitutional and invalid.
Secondly, they want the court to declare the decision by both Jalaluddin and the ministry to restrict them from registering any businesses indefinitely in KL even under a different name is in direct violation of the law, unreasonable, unwarranted, unconstitutional and invalid.
They also want the court to declare that the decision by all of the respondents except the Malaysian government was ultra vires (a legal term meaning going beyond) the Federal Constitution.
They also seek a court order to quash the decision made by all the respondents.
Lastly the owners are seeking compensation in the form of general, compensatory, aggravated, and exemplary damages from the respondents.
In his court filing, Riza accused the respondents of abusing their authority by acting arbitrarily to ban them from registering any business in KL for life without giving either he or his partner Shankar a chance to hear their reasons following the controversy.
Rizal who said he is the sole breadwinner in his family, claimed the decision has affected him severely as he is now barred from opening any business in KL.
