The Court of Appeal has reversed a ruling that halted a condominium development last year, clearing the way for developer Kaisar Maxim Sdn Bhd to resume work.
Justice Wong Kian Kheong said the High Court had erred in law when staying a development order issued by the Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur, and accordingly reinstated it.
“The (stay) order is a nullity and must be set aside. The High Court has no power to grant the stay. It is void ab initio (void from the beginning),” the judge said when delivering the Court of Appeal’s unanimous ruling today.
Wong said a written judgment would follow given that the dispute raised an important legal issue.
The three-member panel was chaired by Justice Supang Lian and also included Justice Alwi Abdul Wahab.
Wong said Order 53 Rule 3(5) of the Rules of Court 2012 allows the High Court to stay proceedings when leave for judicial review is granted.
However, he said, the court has no jurisdiction to stay a development order issued by the mayor pending the disposal of the judicial review application.
The facts of the case revealed that the mayor had issued the development order in 2017, granting Kaisar permission to develop 1,048 apartment units, priced between RM600,000 and RM1 million.
Development began two years ago, but the applicant, Ong Hock Te, owner of a piece of land adjacent to the condominium project in Taman Desa, filed for a judicial review, naming the mayor as the respondent.
Kaisar was allowed to take part in the proceedings as an intervener.
Two months ago, the High Court allowed Ong’s application and stayed the development order pending the outcome of his judicial review application.
Kaisar opposed the stay, contending that it exposed the company to severe financial risks, including a daily loss of RM164,000 if the project is delayed.
Kaisar, represented by Shukor Ahmad, S Selvarajah, Selwyn Vijayarajan Das and Daniel Bock, filed the present proceedings in the Court of Appeal to vacate the stay order.
Lawyers Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi and See Hau Tsien appeared for Ong, while Mohtarudin Baki and S Jayananda Rao acted for the mayor.
