Wakilii

G.M Combined (U) Ltd V The Chief Registrar of Titles (Misc. Appl. No. 415 of 1995)

High Court · [1995] UGHC 5 · 1995 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Interlocutory application to join A.K. Detergent (U) Ltd as co-respondent in a substantive application under section 190 of the Registration of Titles Act
Decision
Application to join refused; main application to proceed between original parties only

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Application to join a registered proprietor as co-respondent in proceedings under section 190 of the Registration of Titles Act dismissed. Order 1 rule 10(2) Civil Procedure Rules does not authorize joining a party against whom the applicant has no cause of action. Section 190 proceedings call only upon the Chief Registrar to defend his statutory decision; a third-party registered proprietor is not directly affected by such proceedings and their presence is not necessary for effectual adjudication.

Outcome

Application to join refused; main application to proceed between original parties only

Facts

G.M Combined (U) Ltd brought an application under section 190 of the Registration of Titles Act calling upon the Chief Registrar of Titles to substantiate his refusal to amend the Register Book and reinstate the applicant as registered proprietor of specified lands. When the application was called for hearing, counsel for A.K. Detergent (U) Ltd, which was not a party but was the current registered proprietor of the property in question, applied to join his client as co-respondent under Order 1 rule 10(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules. The application was based on grounds that A.K. Detergent (U) Ltd was the registered proprietor whose registration G.M Combined (U) Ltd sought to alter, and that its presence was necessary to enable the court to effectually and completely adjudicate all questions involved. Counsel for the respondent Chief Registrar had no objection in principle, but counsel for the applicant strongly resisted.

Issues

  1. Whether A.K. Detergent (U) Ltd, a non-party registered proprietor of land subject to the main application, should be joined as co-respondent under Order 1 rule 10(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules.
  2. Whether the court should exercise its inherent power to join A.K. Detergent (U) Ltd as co-respondent.

Orders

  • Application to join A.K. Detergent (U) Ltd as co-respondent dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Joinder of Parties — Order 1 rule 10(2) CPR — Application to Join as Defendant
Order 1 rule 10(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules authorizes the court to join a party as plaintiff or defendant who ought to have been joined or whose presence is necessary to enable the court to effectually and completely adjudicate upon and settle all questions involved, but the rule plainly implies that the defendant to be added must be one against whom the plaintiff has some cause of action to be determined in the suit and does not authorize the joining of a total stranger against whom the plaintiff has no claim and does not desire to prosecute.
Land & Property — Registration of Titles Act — Section 190 Applications — Joinder of Third Party Registered Proprietor
In proceedings under section 190 of the Registration of Titles Act calling upon the Chief Registrar to defend reasons for refusing to amend the Register, a third-party registered proprietor of the land in question cannot be joined as co-respondent because such proceedings merely call upon the Chief Registrar to defend his statutory decision and the registered proprietor cannot be directly affected by a ruling based on section 190.
Civil Procedure — Inherent Jurisdiction — Refusal to Exercise Where No Injustice Occasioned
The court will decline to invoke its inherent power to join a party where no injustice is likely to be occasioned by the refusal to join, particularly where the main application calls only for the Chief Registrar to defend his statutory duties and explanation from other quarters is not required.

Legislation cited (3)

Cases cited (2)

  • Fatuma Osman Hussein v M.U. Patel (H.C.C.S. No. 623 of 1994)
  • Makerere Properties v The Chief Registrar of Titles (Misc. Application No. 143 of 1993)

Full judgment

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G.M Combined (U) Ltd V The Chief Registrar of Titles (Misc. Appl. No. 415 of 1995) [1995] UGHC 5 (18 October 1995)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.