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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2020 |
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An unequivocal guilty plea bars appeal on conviction; improperly admitted exhibits may be expunged without vitiating conviction.
Criminal procedure – Plea of guilty – Effect of guilty plea on right to appeal; exceptions where plea is ambiguous, induced by mistake, charge discloses no offence or admitted facts cannot sustain conviction – Improper admission of exhibits to be expunged but not fatal where conviction rests on unequivocal plea – Charging particulars curable under section 388(1) CPA.
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27 November 2020 |
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Failure to direct assessors on circumstantial and confession law vitiated trial; insufficient evidence precluded retrial, appellant released.
Criminal procedure – assessors’ summing up – failure to direct on circumstantial evidence and confession – trial rendered nullity; retrial discretionary – Fatehali Manji principles – insufficient or unreliable prosecution evidence may warrant discharge rather than retrial.
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27 November 2020 |
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Respondent's CMA referral was time-barred; CMA and subsequent High Court proceedings nullified.
* Labour law – limitation – Rule 10(1) GN No. 64/2007 (30-day limit) – date of termination is the pleaded date on CMA Form; parties bound by pleadings; contradicting evidence ignored. * Computation of time – Rule 4(1) and (2) – exclude first day, include last day; exclude last day only if it falls on Saturday, Sunday or public holiday (do not exclude all intervening weekends/public holidays). * Jurisdiction – referral filed out of time renders CMA proceedings and award a nullity; consequent High Court proceedings stemming from such award likewise nullified.
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26 November 2020 |
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Arbitral award set aside for arbitrator's ex parte meeting and procedural bias; CMA jurisdiction upheld due to time-barred internal appeal.
Labour law — Arbitration — Arbitrator misconduct — Ex parte meeting and extension of time — Breach of Rule 29(2) G.N. No.64/2007 and Rule 5(h),(i) G.N. No.66/2007 — Award set aside; Jurisdiction — Exhaustion of internal remedies — Time-barred internal appeal does not oust CMA jurisdiction when employer fails to show appeal mechanism.
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26 November 2020 |
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Failure to have assessors give and read their opinions in parties' presence nullified proceedings, necessitating retrial before a new panel.
Land disputes — District Land and Housing Tribunal — Assessors' participation — Regulation 19(2) — Assessors must give written opinions and those opinions must be read to parties before judgment — Non-compliance renders proceedings null — Retrial ordered.
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25 November 2020 |
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Armed robbery conviction quashed where theft and threats were not proved and unextracted minerals were not owner’s property.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – elements: theft and threat; Mining law – primary mining licence and ownership of extracted minerals (s.55(3)(c)); Criminal trespass/illegal mining as appropriate charges; Appellate review – disturbance of concurrent findings where there is misapprehension of evidence; Admissibility procedure – irregular trial practice when receiving exhibits.
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24 November 2020 |
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Inadequate summing up to assessors and unreliable sole eyewitness evidence led to quashing of conviction and no retrial.
Criminal procedure – summing up to assessors – mandatory directions on vital points and specific factual questions; Visual identification and credibility of single witness; Circumstantial evidence; Failure to produce material witness (Amos Mwidete); Retrial principles where conviction vitiated but prosecution case weak.
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24 November 2020 |
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Failure to direct assessors on vital legal points and uncorroborated confession led to quashed murder conviction.
Criminal law; assessors — mandatory summing up and direction on vital points of law; visual identification — Waziri Amani criteria; repudiated/retracted confession — need for independent corroboration; alibi — burden and treatment; retrial — Fatehali Manji principles.
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24 November 2020 |
| July 2020 |
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Delay in recording cautioned/EJS statements excused by investigatory conveyance; confession leading to discovery and corroborated evidence upheld convictions.
Criminal procedure — cautioned statements — prescribed four‑hour limit under s.50(1)(a) CPA — s.50(2)(a) exception for time spent conveying suspect for investigation; cautioned statement preamble sufficiency — "kujeruhi" conveys nature of offence; trial‑within‑trial required on voluntariness objections but unlawfully admitted confession may be relied on if it led to discovery and is corroborated; extra‑judicial statements before Justices of the Peace — reasonableness of timing; circumstantial evidence and confessions may establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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29 July 2020 |
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Child-victim’s consistent evidence, corroborated by parental observation, established rape; procedural and defence complaints were dismissed, appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Rape – Evidence of child victim of tender years can suffice for conviction (s.127(7) Evidence Act) – Corroboration by parent’s observation – Compliance with s.240(3) Criminal Procedure Act when tendering medical report – Second appeal will not entertain grounds not raised in the first appellate court.
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24 July 2020 |
| June 2020 |
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Trial vitiated where assessors were misdirected and influenced; convictions quashed and retrial ordered.
* Criminal procedure – trials with assessors – requirement to explain assessors' role and to sum up facts and relevant law to assessors (s.265, s.298(1) CPA).
* Assessors – misdirection and expression of trial judge/magistrate’s opinion to assessors vitiates proceedings.
* Murder – necessity to explain ingredients (malice aforethought), common intention, identification and alibi to assessors.
* Remedy – nullification of proceedings, quashing of conviction and sentence, and order for retrial before different magistrate/judge with different assessors.
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19 June 2020 |
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Victim and corroborative evidence including a valid cautioned confession upheld rape conviction; extra‑judicial statement disregarded.
* Criminal law – Rape – Proof of penetration and corroboration – victim’s testimony, medical evidence and cautioned statement. * Evidence – Relatives as witnesses – admissibility and assessment of credibility. * Evidence – Extra‑judicial statement not read over in court cannot be relied upon. * Evidence – Admissibility of cautioned statements and allegations of torture.
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19 June 2020 |
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Subsistence allowance pending repatriation is quantified by reference to the employee's monthly basic wage.
Employment law – s.43(1)(c) ELRA – entitlement to subsistence expenses pending repatriation; measure of subsistence: monthly basic wage or daily wage derived therefrom; evidentiary burden to prove daily rates; 2017 Regulations codifying quantification.
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18 June 2020 |
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Review dismissed: applicant failed to show patent error, nullity, or fraud to justify reopening the appeal.
Criminal procedure — Review under Rule 66(1) — Manifest error on face of record — Review is not re‑evaluation of evidence; must be obvious and patent. Criminal law — Conviction and individual responsibility — Singling out accused supported by trial evidence; absence of common intention negates nullity. Evidence — Allegations of fraud or perjury on review — fresh annexures inadmissible; review not a forum for new evidence.
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17 June 2020 |
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Applicant's robbery conviction affirmed based on reliable eyewitness identification and proof beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Visual identification at night – requirements for reliability (lighting, prior acquaintance, early naming); Delay in arrest – not necessarily fatal if explanations exist; Evaluation of defence – appellate review; Hearsay – inadmissible to impeach identification.
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11 June 2020 |
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Appellate court affirms acquittal where defence raised reasonable doubt and prosecution failed to call crucial witnesses.
Criminal law – burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt – effect of failure to cross-examine prosecution witnesses – contradictions versus lies in accused's testimony – afterthought defence – direct evidence versus circumstantial evidence – duty to call crucial witnesses.
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11 June 2020 |
| April 2020 |
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Procedural failures in appointing and directing assessors vitiated the trial; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – trials with assessors – failure to afford accused opportunity to object to assessors and failure to explain assessors’ duties – fatal irregularity; Summing up – omission to direct assessors on doctrine of recent possession, circumstantial evidence, malice aforethought and accused’s conduct – vitiates assessors’ role; Evidence – adequacy of prosecution case for retrial versus acquittal; Remedy – nullification of proceedings, quashing of conviction and ordered retrial.
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3 April 2020 |
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Failure to determine a mentally retarded victim’s competency rendered her testimony unreliable and conviction unsustainable.
Evidence — Competency of witness of unsound mind — Section 127(6) Evidence Act — Sexual offences — Reliance on victim’s testimony where mental retardation indicated — Charge under section 130(1)(2)(e) and 131(1) — Burden to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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3 April 2020 |
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An equivocal guilty plea vitiated conviction; proceedings quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal law – Plea of guilty – Equivocal, imperfect or unfinished plea vitiates bar to appeal under section 360(1) CPA – Proper plea-taking procedure – Misapplication of section 192 CPA – Remedy: quash proceedings, set aside conviction and sentence, order retrial under s.4(2) AJA.
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3 April 2020 |
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District Court lacked EOCCA jurisdiction absent DPP certificate; convictions quashed and appellants released.
* Criminal law – EOCCA jurisdiction – offences under EOCCA triable by High Court; subordinate courts require DPP certificate of transfer. * Constitutional/administrative law – proceedings without statutory conferment of jurisdiction are nullities. * Criminal procedure – retrial discretion (Fatehali Manji principles) where trial contains irremediable defects; destruction of exhibits and chain of custody concerns; admissibility of certificate of seizure.
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3 April 2020 |
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Victim’s detailed testimony, corroborative medical findings and an oral confession upheld conviction and sentence for rape.
* Criminal law – Rape – Proof of penetration and lack of consent – Victim’s testimony, medical (PF3) evidence and oral confession as admissible and sufficient evidence. * Evidence – Admissibility and weight of oral confession before civilians/habitat members. * Evidence – Expert/forensic evidence (DNA) not legally required where credible testimony and medical findings suffice. * Procedure – Non-appearance of investigating police or administrative officers does not necessarily vitiate prosecution case where other credible direct evidence exists.
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3 April 2020 |
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A charge of armed robbery must state the person threatened; material variance and duplicity render convictions incurably defective.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – Particulars must disclose essential elements including person threatened; variance between charge particulars and evidence that goes to the root is fatal; duplicity where robbery and possession counts allege same property; incurable charge requires quashing of conviction and release if other sentences served.
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3 April 2020 |
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D.P.P. may not appear in appellate courts from Primary Court matters without appeal or notice; uncertified grounds are incompetent and unlawful sentence enhancement set aside.
* Criminal procedure – Appeals from Primary Courts – D.P.P.’s right to participate only by appeal or by serving notice to be heard (MCA ss.20,25,34).
* Appellate jurisdiction – Appeals to Court of Appeal from Primary Courts limited to points of law certified by the High Court (AJA s.5(2)(c)).
* Sentencing – Illegal enhancement of sentence where court alters offence to armed robbery without charge or opportunity to comment; such enhancement is a nullity.
* Revisionary powers – Court may invoke s.4(2) AJA to quash irregular appellate proceedings and set aside unlawful sentences and orders.
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3 April 2020 |
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Appeal allowed: unreliable visual ID, improperly admitted extra‑judicial statement and material variance defeated the prosecution.
Visual identification – unreliable where witness fails to describe accused, lighting and observation conditions; Identification parade – cannot cure failure to identify at scene; Extra‑judicial statement – reading before formal admission is irregular and prejudicial; Variance between charge particulars and evidence – material variance vitiates prosecution; Standard of proof – prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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3 April 2020 |
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Unread exhibits expunged but murder conviction upheld on reliable eyewitness identification despite trial omissions.
* Criminal law – murder – identification evidence – reliability of eyewitnesses who knew accused and observed attack in daylight.
* Criminal procedure – admission of documentary exhibits – requirement to read exhibits after admission; failure leads to expungement.
* Criminal procedure – summing up to assessors – introduction of facts not testified to; materiality assessed for prejudice.
* Evidence – extra-judicial statement – distinction between confession and exculpatory statement.
* Appeal – first appeal as rehearing – appellate re-evaluation of evidence where trial court failed to consider defence.
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2 April 2020 |
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Confession and conduct supported conviction for robbery with violence; armed robbery not proved due to lack of weapon use.
Criminal law – robbery – armed robbery requires proof of use of a dangerous/offensive weapon against a person; where absent, offence is robbery with violence. Evidence – visual identification by a lone night witness is unsafe as sole basis for conviction. Evidence – cautioned statement: voluntariness and timing; time spent conveying accused excluded from basic interview period under s.50 CPA. Identification parade – procedural irregularities must be assessed but minor defects may be non-dispositive. Defence of alibi – should be raised and supported with notice/evidence to be effective.
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2 April 2020 |
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Failure to adequately sum up vital legal points to assessors rendered the trial ineffective; appellant's conviction quashed.
Criminal procedure — High Court trials with assessors — Duty to adequately sum up facts and law to assessors (s.265 & s.298(1) CPA) — Visual identification and circumstantial evidence — Ingredients of murder and malice aforethought — Inadequate summing up renders trial as without aid of assessors — Conviction quashed; sentence set aside.
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2 April 2020 |
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Unsworn testimony voided proof of the victim's age; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal law - Evidence: requirement to administer oath or affirmation (section 198(1) CPA; section 4 OJPA) — unsworn/unaffirmed testimony amounts to no evidence; statutory rape — age is essential element; defective trial for failure to affirm witnesses; retrial ordered; revision under AJA.
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1 April 2020 |
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Failure to direct assessors on essential legal points vitiated the trial; convictions quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure — assessors — summing up — non-direction on ingredients of offences, circumstantial evidence, confessional and expert evidence, conduct and last-person-seen doctrine — non-compliance with sections 265 and 298(1) CPA — trial vitiated — revisional powers under section 4(2) AJA — retrial ordered.
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1 April 2020 |
| March 2020 |
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Reported
Failure to permit objections to assessors and inadequate summing up vitiated the trial, prompting quashal and retrial.
* Criminal procedure – Assessors – accused must be afforded opportunity to object to assessors; omission is a fatal irregularity. * Summing up to assessors – duty to adequately explain relevant facts and points of law (confessions, circumstantial evidence, malice aforethought, intoxication, alibi). * Importation of extraneous facts in summing up vitiates assessors' opinions and proceedings. * Remedy – proceedings nullified from selection of assessors; conviction and sentence quashed; retrial ordered under revisional powers (s.4(2) AJA).
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31 March 2020 |
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Failure to involve the appellants in assessor selection and to address assessors on vital law rendered the trial a nullity.
* Criminal procedure – Assessors – Selection: accused must be given opportunity to state objections to selected assessors; failure vitiates trial. * Criminal procedure – Assessors – Summing up: trial judge must explain facts and vital points of law (identification by recognition, alibi, malice aforethought) to assessors. * Evidence – Visual identification: prosecution must explain lighting, proximity and eliminate possibilities of mistaken identity; contradictions and unexplained delays undermine reliability. * Criminal appeals – Retrial: retrial not ordered where original proceedings are defective but prosecution evidence is insufficient (Fatehali Manji principle).
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31 March 2020 |
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Reported
Appeal dismissed: admissible oral confessions and corroborated caution statement proved guilt despite an expunged extra-judicial statement.
* Criminal law – murder – circumstantial evidence and oral admissions – when oral confessions to reliable witnesses may ground conviction. * Evidence – caution statement – repudiated confession may be relied on if corroborated. * Evidence – extra-judicial statement – mandatory compliance with Chief Justice's Guide to Justices of the Peace required; non-compliance renders statement inadmissible. * Evidence – hearsay – statements conveyed via third parties are inadmissible as direct confession. * Procedure – contradictions and omission of witnesses do not necessarily negate otherwise credible evidence.
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30 March 2020 |
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Trial vitiated by failure to direct assessors and defective dying-declaration evidence; conviction quashed, no retrial ordered.
* Criminal procedure – Trials with aid of assessors – Duty to direct assessors on vital legal points (dying declaration, circumstantial evidence, alibi).
* Evidence – Dying declaration – statutory requirements for admissibility and role in visual identification.
* Criminal appeals – When retrial should be refused where prosecution case is contradictory and defective.
* Appellate jurisdiction – Revisional powers to quash conviction and order release.
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30 March 2020 |
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Time spent prosecuting an appeal is a technical delay warranting extension; High Court misdirected on certificate versus leave.
* Civil procedure — extension of time — technical delay: delay caused by time spent prosecuting a matter in court can constitute good cause for extension of time. * Appellate procedure — distinction between application for certificate on point of law and leave to appeal; misdirection by treating one as the other warrants quashing and remittal. * High Court — functus officio — prior dismissal of a different application does not render court functus officio where applications are distinct. * Record preparation — Registrar should ensure proper arrangement of appeal records.
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27 March 2020 |
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The appellant's statutory‑rape conviction was quashed because the prosecution failed to prove the victim's age; no retrial ordered.
* Criminal appeal – new grounds before Court of Appeal – appellate court will not entertain grounds not raised and decided in the High Court. * Criminal procedure – defective charge – particulars and facts read before plea may cure citation defects (section 388 CPA). * Statutory rape – proof of victim's age is essential for section 130(1)(2)(e). * Evidence – preliminary answers/particulars are not sworn evidence; age should be proved by parent, relative, medical practitioner or birth certificate. * Retrial – generally not ordered where prosecution can fill gaps in its evidence; interest of justice governs retrial orders.
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27 March 2020 |
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Assessors were not properly appointed or directed, vitiating the trial and prompting quashing of convictions and retrial.
* Criminal procedure – Assessors – Proper appointment and selection of assessors under sections 265 and 285 CPA – Accused’s right to opportunity to object to assessors.
* Criminal procedure – Summing up – Duty of trial judge under section 298(1) CPA to direct assessors on vital points of law (ingredients of offences, circumstantial evidence, identification, expert evidence, confessional statements).
* Trial irregularity – Inadequate appointment/summing-up amounts to trial without assessors and renders proceedings a nullity.
* Appellate remedy – Powers under section 4(2) AJA to nullify proceedings, quash conviction and set aside sentence; retrial ordered where original trial was illegal or defective (Fatehali Manji).
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27 March 2020 |
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Reported
Murder conviction upheld: confession reliable, no mutual fight or sudden provocation; malice aforethought established.
Criminal law - Murder - Malice aforethought inferred from intention to cause grievous harm; extra-judicial confession as best evidence; mutual fight and provocation defences unavailable absent sudden provocation; conviction for murder upheld where accused attacked defenseless sleeping victim and post-offence conduct was incriminating.
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24 March 2020 |
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Inadequate summing up to assessors on vital legal issues vitiated the trial; proceedings quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure — summing up to assessors — requirement to direct assessors on vital points (malice aforethought, confessions, extra‑judicial statement, alibi, circumstantial evidence, common intention) — misdirection/non‑direction renders trial a nullity — retrial ordered.
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24 March 2020 |
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Extension of time to appeal denied for lack of good cause and procedural misconception.
* Civil procedure – Extension of time (Rule 10) – good cause required – misconception or ignorance of law not good cause. * Appeals – time to appeal (Rule 90) – period runs from date of Notice of Appeal; when prior appeal struck out, record falls with it. * Service of letter requesting proceedings – relevant only if applicant seeks certificate of delay or exemption days; failure to serve does not per se render appeal incompetent.
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23 March 2020 |