Pretoria - Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan caused a stir as he entered the courtroom in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, where arguments are being advanced on his behalf for a declaratory order that he did not need to intervene in a decision by four banks not to do business with the Gupta family and companies associated with them.
Gordhan entered the courtroom around 15:20 on Tuesday and took his seat in the back of the packed public gallery.
Gordhan is listening to the arguments by his advocate, Jeremy Gauntlett on his behalf. His appearance in the court caused such a stir that Judge President Dunstan Mlambo complained about the disturbance.
#GordhanGupta Jeremy Gauntlett for Gordhan in deliberations with Wim Trengove. Speculation about possible settlement @IOL pic.twitter.com/5zlkt7E07z
— Zelda Venter (@ZeldaVenter) March 28, 2017
#GordhanGupta Legal counsel nearly outnumber those in public gallery @IOL pic.twitter.com/KfbaJiQQzG
— Zelda Venter (@ZeldaVenter) March 28, 2017
Gauntlett started with his arguments after the parties could not reach an agreement to settle the matter. Judge Mlambo before the lunch break advised the parties to settle and called the parties to chambers.
The case started an hour later as the parties attempted to find common ground. It is believed that they reached a stalemate and Gauntlett told the judges that their attempts to settle, unfortunately failed.
It is believed that Judge Mlambo gave the parties certain time frames in which to present their cases. The arguments have been reduced after the court earlier on Tuesday ordered that certain portions be struck from both Gordhan's affidavit as well as from Oakbay's court papers.