He filed a notice with the High Court on Wednesday. A hearing where his application will be formally withdrawn has been set for Oct 31.

Mr Kounder, 59, a part-time driver, said he made the decision after talks last week with Mr Jeyaretnam's younger son Philip, who is a Senior Counsel; and with Mr Ng Teck Siong, chairman of the Reform Party which the late politican set up earlier this year.

Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, who is acting as legal manager to wind up his father's firm, will represent Mr Kounder on Oct 31 to withdraw the application.

Mr Kounder said the main reason for his decision was the death of Mr Jeyaretnam, 82, due to heart failure on Sept 30.

He had engaged the veteran opposition leader to argue his application for a by-election in Jurong GRC after the death of MP Ong Chit Chung in July.

'I filed the application for JBJ because I wanted him to be in Parliament. Also, I trust that he would be able to fight the case as my lawyer,' he told The Straits Times.

'But now that he's not around, if I go ahead with the case, I'm not sure what would happen. So, I decided to drop the case.'