Apex court rejects residents’ bid to include ‘new evidence’ in Taman Rimba Kiara case

 

The Court of Appeal had quashed the development order, issued by the mayor in 2017 for Taman Rimba Kiara, last year. DBKL and others have turned to the Federal Court for a final decision.

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has struck out a bid by Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) residents to adduce new evidence in their legal challenge against the proposed development of Taman Rimba Kiara.

Judge Nallini Pathmanathan said the application — to include the 2019 Auditor-General’s (A-G) Report and KL Structure Plan 2020 (KLSP 2020) — is “not necessary” as they were public documents and can be referred to during the hearing.

“The documents are public documents, as defined under the Evidence Act 1950, and thus they are admissible. The issue pertaining to their relevance can be dealt with during the appeal hearing.”

Nallini added that the lawyers acting for the parties involved in the case were at “liberty to rebut these documents”.

The proposed development involves the construction of a 29-storey apartment block, comprising 350 affordable housing units, a serviced apartment and parking facilities.

The project, approved by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), was to be undertaken by Memang Perkasa Sdn Bhd and Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP), a foundation chaired by the federal territories minister.

Lawyer B Thangaraj is acting for DBKL, while Gopal Sri Ram and Khoo Guan Huat are acting for developer Memang Perkasa. Cecil Abraham is the counsel for YWP.

The residents — represented by Gurdial Singh Nijar — wanted to include the A-G’s Report and the KLSP 2020 on grounds that the documents “will have a determining influence on the court’s decision” and to determine whether the plan is binding on the KL mayor.

The A-G’s Report, the residents added, found that the mayor’s approval for the development of Taman Rimba Kiara led to a reduction of green areas in KL.

“The A-G’s findings were that the development order does not comply with the principles under the KLSP 2020,” they added.

Last year, the Court of Appeal quashed the development order, issued by the mayor on July 13, 2017, for Taman Rimba Kiara.

Aggrieved by the ruling, DBKL, YWP and Memang Perkasa took the case to the Federal Court. - FMT