KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has fixed May 23 to hear a judicial review application filed by Crackhouse Comedy Club against its permanent ban by City Hall last year.
Counsel Harshaan Zamani who represented the owners of the club, namely, Mohammad Rizal Johan Van Geyzel and Shankar R. Santhiram, said the date was fixed before High Court deputy registrar Firdaus Sidqi Shahril Azli during case management today.
The hearing for leave application for judicial review will be heard before Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh.
Should a leave be granted, the court will fix a separate date to hear submissions and consider the merits in the judicial review application.
On Jan 5, the duo had initiated legal proceedings claiming that the decisions by City Hall were disproportionate and had affected their source of income.
They were seeking a declaration by the court to dismiss City Hall's decision to revoke their licence, as well as to quash a ruling that blacklisted them from registering any business in the city.
The applicants named City Hall, its mayor, Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah, the then deputy federal territories minister Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias, the Federal Territories Ministry and the government as respondents.
On July 10, the Crackhouse Comedy Club in Taman Tun Dr Ismail was ordered to shut temporarily.
The club did not have an entertainment licence from 2014 to 2017, and the licences approved for the premises since 2018 was for restaurant operations and the selling of liquor, and not for entertainment.
On July 22, Rizal was charged in the Sessions Court with three counts of posting insulting remarks touching on religious and racial sensitivities.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Earlier, Nuramira Abdullah, 26, who performed at the club, was accused of insulting Islam by admitting she was a Muslim and had memorised 15 juzuk (chapters) of the Quran, before taking off her baju kurung at the premises on June 4.