The revocation of a temporary lodging permit without due process constitutes a breach of natural justice.

[1] The High Court granted the respondents' application for judicial review in respect of the appellant's decision to revoke the respondents' permit to run a lodging house. On appeal, we unanimously affirmed that part of the decision but set aside the order that the appellant was to pay general damages and constitutional damages to the respondents. The award of damages was to be assessed by the Senior Assistant Registrar. These are our reasons.

Factual Background

[2] At the end of 2013, the Government of the State of Penang decided to implement what is known as the "Local Government Collection of Fees Policy". The object of this policy, inter alia, was to collect fees from both licensed and unlicensed hotels in the State, and to control such hotels. Thus, it was also decided that all existing hotels that had been operating without the requisite licences under the relevant laws, would be given a moratorium, valid for the period from March 2014 to 30 September 2014.

[3] Apparently, there were these hotels in the State of Penang that had been in operation but were actually unlicensed; substantially because of the failure to obtain the necessary planning permission, change or conversion in land use, approval of building plans, zoning or rezoning and a whole host of other reasons, the details of which are not relevant for this appeal. Under this original moratorium, temporary permits would be issued by the relevant local authority and during this interim period, the unlicensed operators were required to get their "house in order", that is, to obtain the necessary approvals, permissions, and apply for permanent hotel licences.

[4] According to the appellant, the response from the hotel operators was not encouraging. So, the State Government, through the State Committee on the Moratorium Policy on Hotels without Licence decided to amend and vary that original moratorium. It decided to now grant, subject to conditions, temporary hotel permits to such hotels, for a period of one year. This amended and varied Moratorium Policy was valid and implemented from 1 November 2014 to 31 October 2015.

[5] This amended and varied Moratorium Policy was subsequently extended for another year, with conditions. A statement to that effect was issued on 2 October 2015 by the State Government, through the Executive Councilor in charge of Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation.

[6] The 2nd respondent was one such operator. Previously known as "Autumn Star Sdn Bhd", it is the owner and operator of a lodging house (hotel) called "Maritime Waterfront Suites". This hotel, occupies 60 units within Block B of a building known as "The Maritime". The 1st respondent is one of its directors. The developer of The Maritime or "The Maritime Piazza", as the whole development was called, was Jelutong Development Sdn Bhd. The appellant is the local authority, as defined under the Local Government Act 1976 [Act 171], for the city of Penang, where The Maritime is located. The respondents decided to take advantage of the amended and varied Moratorium Policy. On 1 November 2015, it was granted a Temporary Permit to operate the hotel from 1 November 2014 to 31 October 2016.

[7] On 22 April 2016, that temporary permit was revoked with immediate effect. According to the letter conveying the appellant's decision, it was because the landowner, Jelutong Development Sdn Bhd's application for a change of use of the building from 'Commercial Offices' to 'Commercial Hotel' had been rejected on that same date.

[8] The respondents challenged that revocation by way of an application for judicial review and seeking the following primary reliefs:

(a) an order for certiorari that the