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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2025 |
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1 December 2025 |
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1 December 2025 |
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Appellant failed to prove ownership; tribunal's findings and locus inspection upheld, appeal dismissed.
Land law – boundary/possession dispute – proof of ownership by occupation and witness evidence – pleadings bind parties – weight of locus in quo inspection – appellate re-evaluation of factual findings.
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1 December 2025 |
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Appeal dismissed for want of prosecution where appellant failed to file ordered written submissions and sought no extension.
Civil procedure — Failure to file written submissions — Non‑compliance with filing schedule constitutes failure to prosecute — Dismissal for want of prosecution — Proof of filing and extensions — Costs in family disputes.
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1 December 2025 |
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Court corrected a judgment's party citation to reflect administrator capacity under section 106, with no costs.
Civil Procedure — Correction of clerical/typographical errors in judgments and decrees — Section 96 (now 106) Civil Procedure Code — Rectification of party citation/capacity — Effect on enforceability.
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1 December 2025 |
| November 2025 |
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28 November 2025 |
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A prior ward tribunal judgment on ownership bars a later suit; non-execution or missing file does not defeat res judicata.
Civil procedure – Res judicata (Section 11 CPC) – Prior ward tribunal judgment determining ownership bars subsequent suit; non-execution or time-barred execution does not negate res judicata; missing original file irrelevant where authenticated copy of decision exists; criminal proceedings/primary court administrative letter do not determine civil ownership.
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28 November 2025 |
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Summary judgment for unpaid statutory pension contributions after defendant failed to obtain leave to defend.
Summary procedure – National Social Security Fund contributions – Defendant's failure to obtain leave to defend – Non-compliance with GN No. 569 (2025) and Order XXXV, Rule 3(3) CPC – Admission by absence – Summary judgment, interest and costs.
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28 November 2025 |
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Summary judgment granted for unpaid NSSF contributions and penalties; defendant failed to seek leave to defend; 7% court interest awarded.
Civil procedure — Summary judgment — Order XXXV CPC — NSSF Act s.74A(2) — Defendant’s failure to obtain leave to defend — Allegations deemed admitted — Award of unpaid contributions and penalties — Post-judgment interest at court rate — Substituted service suffices.
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28 November 2025 |
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An applicant cannot singly seek restoration of a jointly filed application without leave; the extension application was struck out for incompetency.
Civil procedure — Extension of time to restore dismissed application — Competency — Joint applicants — Parties in subsequent proceedings must remain as in original proceedings unless leave granted — Omission of a joint applicant without lawful justification — Application struck out.
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28 November 2025 |
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Summary judgment for unpaid statutory NSSF contributions and penalties; 7% per annum post-judgment interest awarded.
Summary procedure – recovery of unpaid statutory NSSF contributions and penalties – Order XXXV CPC – section 74A(2) NSSF Act – liquidated demand – defendant’s failure to appear – post-judgment interest at prescribed court rate.
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28 November 2025 |
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Failure to tender a sale agreement rendered oral sale evidence inadmissible; respondent proved ownership by possession.
Evidence — Admissibility of oral evidence of a sale where written sale agreement not tendered — s.107(1) Evidence Act; Land law — title to pass; possession as proof of ownership; standard of proof (balance of probabilities).
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27 November 2025 |
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Delay in judgment does not void it; change of chair invalid only if predecessor recorded evidence; respondent's title upheld.
Land law – proof of title; admissibility of documentary evidence and hearsay; Civil Procedure – delay in judgment (s.34 CPC) not a ground to invalidate judgment; Change of presiding officer – Order XVIII r.15 applicable only where predecessor recorded evidence; Trespass – occupation and fencing as evidence of title/possession.
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27 November 2025 |
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Sale by a non‑administrator was void, but long adverse possession and limitation barred the appellants’ restitution claim.
Land law — validity of sale by non‑administrator; Evidence — primacy of written document over conflicting oral testimony; Adverse possession — continuous use since 2001 bars ejectment; Limitation law — time‑bar to recover land; Customary law — village procedures and de facto estate custodianship.
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27 November 2025 |
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DLHT lacked jurisdiction to decide ownership of land subject to pending probate; matter remitted to Primary Court for probate resolution.
Jurisdiction — DLHT lacked jurisdiction over land forming part of an estate pending probate; Probate law — ownership of estate property to be determined by probate/administration court; Adverse possession — cannot properly prevail where estate/probate proceedings are pending; High Court revisional powers — s.43(1) Disputed Land Courts Act permits nullification of DLHT proceedings for want of jurisdiction.
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26 November 2025 |
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Court adopts parties' Deed of Settlement as consent judgment, making it an enforceable decree with a payment schedule.
Consent judgment — Deed of Settlement adopted as court decree — Summary procedure for statutory contributions — Agreement on outstanding additional contribution and instalment payment plan — Enforceability and default clause — Costs allocation.
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26 November 2025 |
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Individuals lacked locus standi where land was donated to an institution represented by trustees, nullifying the Tribunal proceedings.
Locus standi – parties to contract – institutional recipient represented by trustees; lack of locus standi renders proceedings a nullity and deprives tribunal of jurisdiction; trustees versus individuals; requirement that proper party institute land claims.
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26 November 2025 |
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Failure to pronounce sentence and consider mitigation renders a criminal judgment invalid and requires remittal for fresh judgment.
Criminal procedure — mandatory pronouncement of sentence and consideration of mitigation — sections 252(1), 253 and 331(2) Cap 20; Failure to pronounce sentence renders a conviction and judgment incompetent; Remittal to trial court for fresh compliant judgment; Appellate court may not decide merits where judgment is legally defective.
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26 November 2025 |
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Appeal dismissed; conviction for armed robbery upheld based on recent possession and credible weapon recoveries despite identification and procedural defects.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – visual identification and Waziri Amani factors – suggestive identification parade – doctrine of recent possession – chain of custody and inadmissible extra-judicial statements – recovery of weapons as circumstantial evidence – conviction upheld.
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25 November 2025 |
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A judgment affecting the applicant’s property rights made without affording her a hearing is void ab initio.
Land law – Revision jurisdiction – Sections 41, 43(1)(b) and 43(2) Land Disputes Courts Act – Right to be heard (natural justice, Article 13(6)(a)) – Judgment affecting non‑party with legitimate interest – Nullity – Execution remedies and objection proceedings.
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25 November 2025 |
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Conviction quashed where victim’s inconsistent testimony and missing corroboration left identity unproven beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Unnatural offence – Identity and corroboration – Reliance on victim’s evidence – Hearsay and absent witness – PF3 noting mental disorder – Failure to call secret informer – Insufficient proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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25 November 2025 |
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Minor descriptive inconsistencies were not fatal; appellant’s admission and conduct established possession and conviction was upheld.
Criminal law – unlawful possession of firearm – re-evaluation of evidence on appeal – materiality of contradictions; possession established by knowledge and control though firearm found in third party’s premises; admissibility of cautioned statements—voluntariness and effect of delay; proof beyond reasonable doubt; failure to call corroborative witness not fatal.
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25 November 2025 |
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Mandatory mediation, non‑joinder of the caregiver and missing affidavit vitiated the custody proceedings.
Juvenile procedure — mandatory mediation in custody applications; non‑joinder of caregiver/interested person (rule 65(3)); requirement of supporting affidavit (rule 63(1) and Order XLIII r.2 CPC); custody proceedings vitiated by procedural irregularities.
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25 November 2025 |
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Misdescription and missing attachments cured by lack of prejudice; omission of an essential party renders the appeal incurably defective and struck out.
Civil procedure – Order XXXIX R.1(1) CPC – memorandum of appeal vs petition of appeal – misdescription and prejudice; Requirement to attach judgment and decree – ECMS as official record; Overriding objective – curability of non-prejudicial procedural irregularities; Locus standi – right of aggrieved party to raise procedural irregularities; Necessary/essential party – omission fatal, appeal struck out.
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24 November 2025 |
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Registration presumes sole ownership; husband failed to rebut, so disputed house not matrimonial property and sale valid.
Matrimonial property – Law of Marriage Act ss.59, 60(a) – Presumption from registration – burden to rebut – admissibility of hearsay evidence; Evidence Act s.67(1) – limits of power of attorney evidence – credibility and proof on balance of probabilities.
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24 November 2025 |
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Conviction for grave sexual abuse quashed because prosecution failed to prove sexual gratification beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – sexual offences – grave sexual abuse under section 138C(1)(a) – elements: act for sexual gratification and lack of consent (age). Evidence – victim's testimony in sexual offences – scrutiny and credibility; minor contradictions do not always vitiate prosecution case. Evidence – requirement to call material witness (first informant) and probative value of investigating officer's testimony. First appeal – appellate re-examination of record and interference with factual findings only where misdirection or failure to prove elements is shown.
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24 November 2025 |
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Unexplained assessors' absence and single opinion breached statutory requirements, requiring the proceedings be set aside and a retrial ordered.
* Land Disputes Courts Act (Cap. 216) ss.23, 24, 49 – assessors' attendance and participation – chairman’s duty to account for assessor absence – irregularity occasioning failure of justice – retrial ordered. |
21 November 2025 |
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Unexplained assessor irregularities violated the Land Dispute Courts Act; judgment quashed and retrial ordered.
Land Dispute Courts Act (Cap. 216 R.E. 2023) – sections 23 and 24 – assessors' attendance and opinion – procedural irregularity – failure of justice – section 49 (curative provision) – retrial ordered.
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21 November 2025 |
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Statutory immunity for reporting crimes is qualified; failure to prove lack of probable cause and malice defeats malicious prosecution claim.
Torts — malicious prosecution; elements required (prosecution, favourable termination, lack of reasonable/probable cause, malice, damages) — statutory immunity under CPA s.8(1)(a)&(2) qualified, not absolute — joinder of police/DPP not always necessary.
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21 November 2025 |
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Cause of action accrued at date of injury; professional inquiry did not suspend limitation, suit dismissed as time‑barred.
Limitation of actions; accrual of cause of action; whether professional disciplinary proceedings suspend limitation; one‑year limit for compensation under written law (Item 1); three‑year limit for torts/negligence (Item 6); preliminary objection as pure point of law (Mukisa Biscuit).
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21 November 2025 |
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21 November 2025 |
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Leave for judicial review cannot be granted to pursue a declaratory order not recognised by the governing statute.
Judicial review — statutory prerogative writs — mandamus, prohibition, certiorari only — declaratory relief not available under Law Reform (Fatal Accidents and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, Cap. 310 — preliminary objection raising pure point of law to be determined first.
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21 November 2025 |
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Applicants showed a triable issue on sale procedure but failed to prove irreparable harm; injunction refused.
Civil procedure – Temporary injunction – Atilio v Mbowe test – prima facie case; irreparable injury; balance of convenience. Mortgage law – sale of mortgaged property – compliance with statutory notice and sale procedure; alleged sale below market/forced-sale value. Interim relief – financial loss usually reparable; absence of irreparable harm defeats injunction application.
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21 November 2025 |
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Court dismissed preliminary objections, finding application not omnibus and jurisdiction competent; substantive execution application to proceed.
Execution law – omnibus applications – lifting corporate veil – committal to civil prison – preliminary objection must raise pure point of law – wrong citation not fatal – overriding objective.
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20 November 2025 |
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Minor inconsistencies and related witnesses' evidence did not prevent prosecution proving grievous harm beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Grievous harm – Elements: unlawful wound by sharp object, grievous injury, intention. Evidence – Minor inconsistencies; corroboration by medical report (PF3). Evidence of relatives – competent and may ground conviction if credible; absence of collusion. Self-defence – requires reasonable, proportionate force; excessive force negates defence.
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20 November 2025 |
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Failure to prove theft (no contemporaneous description or reliable chain of custody) nullifies an armed robbery conviction.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – Essential ingredients – stealing/theft must be proved as prerequisite to robbery. Evidence – Identification and description of stolen property – requirement of spontaneous description and risk of suggestion if description follows recovery. Evidence – Chain of custody and lawful seizure – necessity to establish link between accused and recovered property. Criminal procedure – Burden of proof – prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; value of stolen item immaterial.
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20 November 2025 |
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Failure to prove a firearm and defective trophy identification/destruction led to quashing of convictions.
Criminal law – unlawful possession of firearm – necessity of expert evidence to establish an item is a firearm; Evidence – discovery/confession admissibility; Evidence – chain of custody of exhibits; Wildlife Conservation Act – procedural requirements for disposal/destruction of perishable government trophies; Proof beyond reasonable doubt. |
20 November 2025 |
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Appeal allowed: conviction quashed due to contradictions, hearsay and failure to call investigator creating reasonable doubt.
Rape — elements (penetration, victim's age, identity); credibility of victim; corroboration by medical evidence; relatives' evidence and hearsay; failure to call investigating officer — adverse inference; reasonable doubt and acquittal.
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20 November 2025 |
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Appeal dismissed: original suit time-barred and appellant failed to prove ownership or entitlement to possession of the land.
Limitation of actions – Recovery of land – Paragraph 22, Schedule to the Law of Limitation Act (12-year period) – Suit filed after cause arose in 1992 held time-barred. Appeals – Time for filing appeals from DLHT to High Court – Section 44(1)&(2) Land Disputes Courts Act (45 days) – time runs from date copy of judgment is obtained. Evidence – Burden and standard of proof in civil cases – Sections 110/117 Evidence Act – onus remains on party alleging right to prove same. Possession – Long uninterrupted occupation and cultivation as evidentiary factor supporting possessory rights/adverse possession principles. Procedural – Failure to call key witnesses weakens a party’s claim but does not shift onus until the claimant discharges it.
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19 November 2025 |
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An extension application filed before the statutory appeal period expires is premature and incompetent.
Land law – appeals from DLHT – computation of appeal time under s.44(2) Land Disputes Courts Act – exclusion of period taken to obtain copies of judgment. Civil procedure – extension of time – incompetence of premature applications; courts cannot extend time not yet elapsed. Electronic filing/payment dates do not validate applications filed before statutory deadline.
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19 November 2025 |
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A certificate of title is not conclusive of the applicant's ownership absent proof of lawful procurement; respondent's sale agreement prevailed.
Land law; proof of title; Customary Right of Occupancy not conclusive without proof of lawful procurement; admissibility vs probative weight of documents; burden and standard of proof in civil cases; evaluation of conflicting evidence.
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19 November 2025 |
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Whether the applicant proved the house was matrimonial, adverse-inference, and child maintenance quantification.
Family law – Matrimonial property – Proof of joint acquisition or substantial improvement under section 114 – documentary evidence and vendor's testimony as best evidence. Civil evidence – Adverse inference – failure to call alleged owner does not require adverse inference where vendor and written contract are before the court (Hemedi Saidi principle applied). Child maintenance – Requirement for quantification and social inquiry under the Law of the Child and Law of Marriage; maintenance orders must be specific and enforceable.
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18 November 2025 |
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Land tribunal erred in conferring ownership on licensees and ordering estate distribution; appeal allowed and judgment quashed.
Evidence — Burden of proof in land claims; each claimant must prove root of title. Land law — Licensees/invitees: permissive occupation cannot ripen into ownership. Civil procedure — Pleadings of non-appearing parties cannot substitute for evidence; rights cannot be granted without testimony. Jurisdiction — Land Tribunal lacks power to distribute deceased’s estate; probate courts exclusively handle succession and estate administration. Reliefs — Granting ownership or allotments without proof is ultra vires and unsustainable.
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18 November 2025 |
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Irregular recording of witnesses’ evidence vitiated the CMA award, warranting a retrial de novo before another arbitrator.
Labour law – arbitration procedure – form of recording evidence; question-and-answer and reported forms v. narrative recording – effect of irregularity on award validity; retrial ordered. Civil procedure – revision of CMA award – afterthought objection to CMA FI not entertained. Evidence – admission and recording of exhibits; importance of proper record.
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18 November 2025 |
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Confused, conflated trial records vitiate conviction; proceedings quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure – defective and conflated trial records – proceedings mixing two accused – fatal irregularity – revisional powers under s.395(1) Criminal Procedure Act – nullification of proceedings and order for trial de novo.
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18 November 2025 |
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Change of assessors during trial vitiated the tribunal proceedings; matter quashed and remitted for retrial before a different Chairperson.
Land law – Trial procedure – Land Disputes Courts Act, s.23 – Requirement that tribunal sit with Chairman and assessors who must give opinion before judgment – assessors’ continuous participation required. Procedure – Change of assessors mid‑trial – irregularity vitiating proceedings – nullity and retrial. Remedy – Quash and set aside judgment; remit for rehearing before different Chairperson. Costs – none where irregularity raised suo motu by appellate court.
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18 November 2025 |
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A child's promise to tell the truth validates admissibility and corroborated family testimony can sustain conviction.
Evidence — Child witness — Section 135(2) Evidence Act — Promise to tell truth sufficient for admissibility; Raising alarm — absence not fatal if reporting and identification prompt and reasonable; Witnesses — testimony of relatives admissible if consistent and credible; Investigating officer — non-appearance not necessarily vitiating where evidence suffices; Proof beyond reasonable doubt — corroborated child and eyewitness testimony can sustain conviction.
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17 November 2025 |
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Improper participation of an assessor after an order to proceed with one assessor vitiates evidence and warrants nullifying and rehearing affected proceedings.
Land Disputes Courts Act – assessor participation – breach of section 23 – improper involvement of assessor mid-trial vitiates evidence – section 24 (opinion) not determinative – section 45 (curable irregularities) constrained – remedy: nullify proceedings and rehear affected evidence.
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17 November 2025 |
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17 November 2025 |
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Introduction of an assessor mid-trial after order to proceed with a single assessor was unlawful, nullifying specific proceedings and prompting retrial.
Land Disputes Courts Act, s.23(1),(2),(3) – Tribunal composition – Valid continuation with chairman and remaining assessor when one assessor absent. Improper change of coram – Introduction of new assessor after order to proceed with single assessor is unlawful. Evidence recorded in presence of improperly participating assessor – may occasion failure of justice. Land Disputes Courts Act, s.49 – irregularity reversible if it occasioned failure of justice. Remedy – limited retrial on set-aside evidence with directions on coram.
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17 November 2025 |