Judgment at Lusaka High Court Forces Dr. Mahtani To Make Appeal To Higher Court

Even though the final announcement for Portland Cement Zambia was made at the Lusaka High Court, the cement factory’s fate hangs in balance. The case was registered by Dr. Rajan Mahtani almost ten years back and since then the case has been dragged through the years with no proper forward direction.

The judge handling the case made a positive announcement few months back when the case hearing was finally closed. This meant no more trials and arguments before the judge. Both parties were asked to submit their updated evidences in written and oral formal based on which, final judgment was to be announced. It was an extremely positive move from the court which has been dragging this case for so long. It was even better news for Dr. Mahtani and his lawyers as his evidences and testimonials were exactly what were required to win the case. For instance, this included signed shareholder’s agreement, testimonials from significant members of the cement factory as well as independent audit report conducted by an independent auditor which clearly indicated that the factory was established as a joint venture establishment and Dr. Rajan Mahtani was the sole joint venture partner of the factory. These evidences and the financial statements indicating investment of more than USD 12 million by Dr. Mahtani on the development of the factory were more than enough for the judge to make the right decision and give back the factory to its real owner, Dr. Rajan Mahtani.

Despite these evidences, the final judgment was announced against Dr. Mahtani’s claims. As such, Dr. Mahtani has now appealed to the higher Zambian court against this skewed judgement made at the Lusaka High Court.