|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| December 2023 |
|
|
Failure to prove authorship of disputed loan documents and improper burden shifting led to quashing of the judgment.
Evidence Act s.110 – burden of proof – plaintiff who alleges loan must prove authenticity of documentary evidence. Civil Procedure Code Order VI r.4 – fraud/forgery must be particularized in pleadings. Standard of proof – allegations of fraud/forgery require a higher degree than ordinary balance of probabilities. Documentary evidence – weight and authorship; necessity to call bank/technical witnesses to establish cheque authenticity. Civil appeal – improper shift of burden and judgment against the evidence justify quashing decree.
|
21 December 2023 |
|
A three‑year unexplained delay in serving notice of appeal is inordinate; applicant failed to show good cause for extension.
Civil procedure – extension of time – requirements for showing good cause – factors: length of delay, reasons, diligence, prejudice, point of law (Lyamuya, Devram, Bushiri). Delay of over three years without adequate explanation or accounting is inordinate and may justify refusal to extend time. Applicant must account for each day of delay and demonstrate prompt action upon discovery of omission.
|
14 December 2023 |
|
Court upheld statutory rape conviction: victim credible, age and penetration proved; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Statutory rape – proof of age and penetration – victim’s testimony as best evidence; PF3 and school register as evidence of age. Criminal procedure – Preliminary hearing under s.192 Criminal Procedure Act – proper conduct and purpose. Criminal procedure – Succession of magistrates – s.214 compliance and absence of miscarriage of justice. Evidence – Credibility and corroboration in sexual offence cases.
|
14 December 2023 |
|
A fixed‑term appointment supplants a prior unspecified‑term employment; oral promise to revive it is inadmissible against the written contract.
Labour law – fixed‑term appointment v. unspecified (permanent) contract – whether fixed‑term appointment terminates prior permanent contract automatically. Employment contracts – possibility of concurrent full‑time contracts – impracticability; part‑time exception distinguished. Evidence – parol evidence rule (s.100 & s.101 Evidence Act) and s.14(2) ELRA – oral agreement cannot vary written employment contract unless exception applies. Procedural – res judicata issue raised but not dispositive once primary contractual issues resolved.
|
14 December 2023 |
|
Extension of time to file revision granted where delay was promptly explained and alleged denial of hearing constituted good cause.
Civil procedure — Extension of time under Rule 10 — good cause requirement — factors: length of delay, reasons for delay, prejudice. Extension of time — illegality of impugned decision — denial of right to be heard may constitute good cause if apparent on face of record. Probate/procedure — locus/standing — party appearing via suo motu district court review may properly appeal to High Court.
|
14 December 2023 |
|
Failure to read prosecution documents under s.246(2) CPA invalidates committal and quashes convictions.
Criminal procedure — Committal proceedings — Section 246(2) Criminal Procedure Act — Subordinate court must read or cause to be read information and prosecution documents — Mere listing of documents insufficient — Non‑compliance vitiates committal and subsequent trial; remedy: nullification, quashing of conviction and remittal for fresh committal.
|
14 December 2023 |
|
Review application dismissed: alleged bias, denial of hearing and manifest error not established; review cannot substitute an appeal.
Review jurisdiction — Rule 66(1) AJA/Rules — only for manifest error on face of record or deprivation of right to be heard; bias and bench composition — complaint must be timely and supported; re‑litigation via review not permitted; unincorporated association and property ownership considered in appellate evaluation of evidence.
|
14 December 2023 |
|
Review application dismissed: "permissible penalty" is not mandatory summary dismissal; no manifest error on the record.
Appellate procedure – Review of Court of Appeal judgment – Rule 66(1)(a): manifest error on the face of the record causing miscarriage of justice required. Employment law – 2nd Schedule, Security of Employment Act – "permissible penalty" construed as maximum allowable, not mandatory summary dismissal. Civil procedure – Abuse of process – review cannot be used to re-open or rehear matters already decided on appeal.
|
14 December 2023 |
|
Court held respondent was a party and attachments of his personal property were wrongful; appeal dismissed.
Civil procedure – party status and representation – village chairman sued in representative capacity; failure to object waives misjoinder. Execution law – attachment and sale – wrongful attachment of personal property where proceedings involved village representation. Remedies – objection proceedings under Order XXI, r.57 not decisive where party status and wrongful attachment established. Appellate review – High Court's quashing of DLHT order and restoration/compensation upheld.
|
14 December 2023 |
|
Applicant failed to account for delay or show an arguable ground; extension of time to file review denied.
Criminal procedure — Extension of time under Rule 10 — Applicant must account for each day of delay and show good cause — Requirement to disclose an arguable ground under Rule 66(1) (e.g., manifest error on face of record) — Discretion guided by length of delay, reasons, prejudice, diligence and point of law.
|
14 December 2023 |
|
Applicant's failure to account for delay justified refusal to extend time; one assessor's absence did not vitiate DLHT proceedings.
Civil procedure – extension of time – applicant must account for each day of delay; Illegality – limited to jurisdictional or material procedural defects; Land Disputes – DLHT may continue with chairman and one assessor under s.23(3).
|
13 December 2023 |
|
Appeal dismissed: prosecution proved statutory rape; new factual grounds at second appeal were not entertained.
Criminal law - Statutory rape (s.130(2)(e)) - Proof of age and penetration - Corroboration by parent and medical evidence (PF3) - Identification - Appellate procedure - New grounds not raised in earlier appeal not entertained.
|
13 December 2023 |
|
A child witness must make an express promise to tell the truth; absence invalidates her testimony and quashes the appellant's conviction.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Rape – Necessity of reliable evidence from child complainant; statutory promise under section 127(2) Evidence Act required when child testifies without oath. Evidence law – Witness of tender age – requirement of an express promise to tell the truth and not lies; failure to comply renders testimony of no evidential value. Evidential sufficiency – Hearsay – testimony by a parent recounting a child’s statements cannot by itself corroborate the child once the child’s testimony is expunged. Sentence – enhancement to life reversed as conviction quashed.
|
13 December 2023 |
|
Oral confessions made under restraint and before a crowd were not voluntary and required corroboration; convictions quashed.
Evidence — Confessions — Oral confessions made in presence of vigilantes and a crowd — voluntariness and free agent requirement — need for corroboration. Evidence — Failure to tender cautioned/extrajudicial statements — adverse inference. Criminal appeal — Grounds alleging last-seen/circumstantial reliance misconceived where trial court did not rely on them.
|
12 December 2023 |