KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): The owners of Crackhouse Comedy Club have filed a judicial review to challenge the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s decision to revoke its licence and bar them from operating any business, following a much publicised caper done by a lady to undermine Islam.
Mohamad Rizal Johan Van Geyzel and Shankar Santhiram named the city hall, its mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah, the then deputy Federal Territories minister Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias, the then Federal Territories minister and the Malaysian government as respondents.
The judicial review application was filed last November at the High Court through the firm Messrs Karpal Singh & Co.
Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh fixed Jan 26 for the hearing of the leave application to gain judicial review, and case management of the matter was also fixed for the same day.
In a judicial review application, leave or permission has to be gained for the full merits of the application to be heard to challenge a government authority’s decision. This is to make sure the application is not frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of the court process.
In Rizal and Shankar’s application, they want to challenge the KL City Hall's decision to revoke their licence and also the deputy minister’s decision to prohibit the owners from registering their trade in KL at all times, where they cited the decision is plagued with irrationality and unreasonableness.
Hence, they are seeking leave for the court to initiate the judicial review to seek several declarations, namely:
- A declaration that the decision by the KL City Hall and the mayor to revoke Crackhouse Comedy Club's licence is against the law, irrational, unwise, unconstitutional and should be declared null and void
- A declaration that the decision made by the deputy minister and the government to prohibit the owners of Crackhouse Comedy Club from registering any trade in KL for all times in any name or company is against the law, irrational, unconstitutional, is declared null and void
- A declaration that all the decisions by the respondents is ultra vires (beyond the power) of the Federal Constitution
- A certiorari order to quash the decision of the respondents in making the two above decision, and
- A declaration that the owners have the liberty under the Federal Constitution to have a legal trade in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.
Rizal and Shankar are also seeking aggravated and exemplary damages, along with other relief given by the court with no order as to costs.
Last July, Rizal was charged at the KL Sessions Court with three counts of posting insulting remarks which touch on religious and racial sensitivities, to which he had claimed trial.
Meanwhile, the lady who performed the caper, Siti Nuramira Abdullah, 26, was charged earlier that month with insulting Islam by admitting she is a Muslim and allegedly memorised 15 juz of the Quran before removing her tudung and baju kurung at the Crackhouse Comedy Club on June 4.
Siti Nuramira, who claimed trial, was charged under Section 298A of the Penal Code with causing disharmony, disunity, or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill will, or prejudicing the maintenance of harmony or unity, on grounds of religion.
Rizal and Siti Nuramira were charged following a viral video which depicted Siti Nuramira allegedly performing the purported offensive act.