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Businessman Mohan Galot (pictured) and three others yesterday suffered a blow after they failed to stop several criminal cases filed against them by the Director of criminal Investigations and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

High court Judge Freda Mugambi dismissed the suit with cost, saying the issues raised in the petition had been previously canvassed in courts of concurrent jurisdiction.

Galot, two directors and Company secretary of four of his companies; Galot Industries, Manchester Outfitters, Kings Woolen Mills and London Distillers wanted to stop six criminal cases filed against them at the Magistrates court. Galot, Rajeev Modi, Pushpinder Singh Mann and Jophece Yogo claimed that the smooth operation and business affair of the four companies have been threatened and continued to be threatened by the institution of the criminal charges against them.

At the heart of the petition is a hotly contested dispute between Galot and his nephews Pravin Galot, Rajesh Galot and Narendra Galot over the ownership and operations of the said four companies.

Irregular activities

Galot claimed in the petition that there were irregular activities of forgery, corruption and collusion between officers of DCI, DPP, the AG and his nephews.  It was his case that the irregular activities have been aimed at embarrassing, harassing and defrauding him and despite reports having been made to their respective offices about, the offices failed to protect him or take legal action against his nephews.

“The irregular activities of the interested parties are the cause of the disputed ownership over the companies. As a result of the dispute, there are a total of seven civil suits filed and currently before the courts touching on the ownership and management of the companies,” he claimed in court documents.

Galot contended that six criminal cases have been filed by his nephew, during the pendency of the civil cases, allegedly with the support and assistance of DPP, DCI and the AG.

In her judgement, Justice Mugambi, however noted, that the petition and the previous suits and applications had a common thread running through all which was the question of the independence of DCI vis a vis their right to fair trial, the right to fair administrative action; the violations of their constitutional rights and the question of stay of criminal proceedings.

“I have no doubt that the issues that the petitioners seek to argue and challenge in the current petition are well settled albeit by different divisions of the High court,” noted the Judge.

– Bernice Mbugua