Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani’s last hope was higher Court of Appeal in the Portland Cement Zambia case. Portland Cement Zambia case can be easily described as one of the most peculiar cases within the Zambian legal history. The case was registered at a lower court, Lusaka High Court by Dr. Rajan Mahtani with claims that his factory was unethically taken over. This claim was made more than a decade ago and during this time, numerous evidences, testimonials and other details were shared before the court. However, Dr. Rajan Mahtani faced numerous challenges and issues during this time period such as lack of ethical standings of the court, frequent transfer of the judges, lack of cooperation from the legal system, tricks by the other parties to avoid decisions and verdict. A ray of hope came for Dr. Rajan Mahtani few months before the actual announcement was made. During the initial months of 2018, justice Nkonde on behalf of the Lusaka High Court announced that the case proceedings have been closed and the final decision will be given after looking into all evidences and testimonials. As such, both parties were required to share their updated testimonials and evidences in written and oral format. It was a positive announcement for Dr. Rajan Mahtani as all evidences and testimonials pointed that he is the actual owner of the factory.
However, the final decision from the Lusaka High Court judge was shocking to say the least. Lusaka High Court judge announced Ventriglia family, and not Dr. Rajan Mahtani, as the only shareholder of the factory. This decision was challenged by Dr. Rajan Mahtani at the higher Court of Appeal. Based on the available evidences, justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal gave their final announcement on 31st January 2019. In their verdict, Justice Mwinde announced Dr. Mahtani as the majority shareholder and real owner of the factory and decision from previous judge from the lower court was condemned.