ACTING Chief Justice Ian Chang has deferred, until Monday, his decision on whether or not to discharge or make absolute a nisi order of mandamus calling on the Chief Works Officer and or the Minister of Public Works and Communications to show cause.

The original edict was issued by Justice William Ramlal on April 8, on an application by businessman Maurice Rajkumar.

The applicant claimed that after the Chief Works Officer and other officers had given him permission to construct a bridge to access his premises, Engineering coordinator Leon Goring of the Work Services Group, in the Ministry of Public Works and Communications, informed him that the construction was not approved.

Before Justice Ramlal, attorney-at-law Mr. Anil Nandlall had argued that the refusal to approve and the delay in granting approval is capricious, arbitrary, unlawful, unreasonable, contrary to legitimate expectations and is based upon irrelevant considerations.

Rajkumar, a businessman of Lot 142 Happy Acres, East Coast Demerara said he is the owner of land situated within the La Bonne Intention-Better Hope Neighbourhood Democratic Council and a plot at Lot ‘C 1’ Le Ressouvenir, upon he built five executive homes, in a secure, gated compound, all rented to the United States (U.S.) Embassy.

He said, in an affidavit, that he intended to build 10 more such houses, for a similar purpose and estimated that it will cost approximately $500M and create employment for about 60 persons.

At the hearing in front of Justice Chang, Principal Legal Adviser, Mr. Nareshwar Harnanan, for the respondents, referred to the answering attestation sworn to by Permanent Secretary Balraj Balram of Ministry of Public Works and Communications.

It said, among other things, that the orders prayed for by the applicant are wholly misconceived, malicious, vexatious and without any merit whatsoever and, as such, should be refused with costs to the respondents.