Wakilii

Muhimbise v Mohammed & Another (Civil Application 48 of 2021)

Supreme Court · [2022] UGSC 20 · 2022 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to a single Justice of the Supreme Court for extension of time within which to file a notice of appeal, or validation of a notice of appeal filed out of time, against a Court of Appeal decision
Decision
Application granted; notice of appeal filed out of time validated; applicant to serve respondents within 7 days of the ruling

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

On an application under rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules for extension of time to file a notice of appeal against a Court of Appeal decision, the single Justice held that sufficient reason was established. The Court of Appeal judgment had been delivered in the absence of the applicant and her counsel, no judgment notice was served, and the respondent's claim that the parties were notified of the judgment date by telephone was not proved. The court exercised its discretion in the interest of justice, granted the application and validated the notice of appeal filed out of time. The respondent's allegation of contempt was declined as a matter for trial.

Outcome

Application granted; notice of appeal filed out of time validated; applicant to serve respondents within 7 days of the ruling

Facts

The applicant filed Civil Appeal No. 222 of 2013 in the Court of Appeal challenging a High Court decision in a dispute over land at Plot 10 Lugard Road, Fort Portal. The Court of Appeal reserved judgment and indicated it would deliver judgment on notice. The judgment was delivered by the Registrar on 3 September 2021 in the absence of the applicant and her counsel. The applicant said she only learned of the judgment on 28 October 2021 when served with a notice to show cause why execution should not issue, and filed her notice of appeal on 29 October 2021, after the statutory time limit. The applicant maintained that no judgment notice was served and no affidavit of service appeared on record. The first respondent contended the parties had been notified of the judgment date by telephone owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, that the applicant was guilty of dilatory conduct, and that she stood in contempt of a consent order requiring deposit of mesne profits.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant established sufficient reason under rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules to warrant extension of time to file a notice of appeal, or validation of a notice of appeal filed out of time.

Orders

  • The application is granted as prayed.
  • The notice of appeal filed by the applicant out of time is validated.
  • The applicant shall serve the respondents with the said notice within 7 days from the date of delivery of this ruling.
  • Costs of this application shall abide the outcome of the main appeal.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Extension of Time — What constitutes 'sufficient reason' under rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules
Under rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules the court may, for sufficient reason, extend prescribed time; what constitutes sufficient reason is left to the court's unfettered discretion and includes both a reason that prevented the applicant from taking the essential step in time and other reasons why the intended appeal should be allowed to proceed out of time.
Civil Procedure — Notice of Appeal — Failure to serve a judgment notice and delivery in the absence of a party as sufficient reason
Where a Court of Appeal judgment is delivered in the absence of the applicant and her counsel, no judgment notice is served, and the respondent's assertion that the parties were notified of the judgment date is unproved, the applicant establishes sufficient reason for the delay in filing a notice of appeal.
Civil Procedure — Extension of Time — Validation of documents filed out of time
An extension of time has the legal effect of validating or excusing documents already filed out of time; where the documents on record are complete and in proper form, the applicant need not file fresh documents, and a notice of appeal filed late may be validated rather than treated as a nullity.

Legislation cited (5)

  • Judicature (Supreme Court Directions) Rules SI No. 13-11 rule 2(2)
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Directions) Rules SI No. 13-11 rule 5
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Directions) Rules SI No. 13-11 rule 41(2)
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Directions) Rules SI No. 13-11 rule 42
  • Judicature (Supreme Court Directions) Rules SI No. 13-11 rule 43

Cases cited (8)

  • James Bwogi & Sons Enterprises Ltd v Kampala City Council & Anor (Civil Appeal No. 9 of 2017)
  • Rosette Kizito v Administrator General & Ors (Civil Appeal No. 9 of 1985)
  • Guliano Gariggo v Claudio Casadio (Civil Appeal No. 1 of 2013)
  • Francis Drake Lubega v Attorney General & 2 Ors (Consolidated Miscellaneous Applications Nos. 31 and 32 of 2011)
  • Crane Finance Co. Ltd v Makerere Properties (Civil Application No. 7 of 2007)
  • Shanti - vs - Hindocha [1973] E.A. 2A
  • The Executrix of the Estate of Christine Mary N Tebajjukiro & Anor v Noel Grace Shalita (Civil Application No. 8 of 1988)
  • Boney M. Katotumba v Waheed Karim (Civil Application No. 27 of 2007)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Muhimbise v Mohammed & Another (Civil Application 48 of 2021) [2022] UGSC 20 (11 February 2022)
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.