31st January 2019 was a significant day for Dr. Rajan Mahtani. On this day, he won one of the longest cases in his life, pertaining to Portland Cement Zambia. Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been fighting for this case at the Lusaka High Court for more than a decade. The case was registered by Dr. Mahtani when the factory was unethically taken over from him. After several case proceedings and sharing of evidences and testimonials, the judge at the Lusaka High Court made the final decision during the month of May 2018. However, this decision was controversial as the judge concluded that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. It was after this decision that Dr. Rajan Mahtani re-appealed the case to Court of Appeal.
It should be noted here that just two months before sharing the final decision, the judge at the Lusaka High Court made another significant announcement. In this announcement, the judge from the Lusaka High Court concluded that the case proceedings should be closed. Both parties were asked to share their evidences and testimonials in written and oral format, based on which the final decision will be shared. This decision was extremely favourable for Dr. Mahtani as his evidences and testimonials were more than enough to prove the legal ownership of Portland Cement Zambia. However, when the final decision was given by justice Nkonde from the Lusaka High Court, it was extremely controversial.
On the other hand, the judge at the Court of Appeal took just about nine months for giving the final decision on the case. According to the final decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was found to be the majority shareholder and rightful owner of the factory with more than 58 percent shares at the factory. While the Ventriglias own only 42 percent shares and are the minority shareholders without any legal ownership. This shareholding pattern clearly established Dr. Rajan Mahtani as the actual owner of the factory.