Wakilii

Nababi & Another v Administrator General & Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 500 of 2019)

High Court · [2019] UGHCFD 49 · 2019 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for extension of time to serve respondents with chamber summons arising from underlying civil suit
Decision
Application granted with extended time for service of chamber summons up to 5 December 2019

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court granted the application for extension of time to serve the chamber summons. The delay in service was not occasioned by the applicants but by the court calendar and the endorsement of the summons before a hearing date was fixed. The chamber summons was endorsed on 17 June 2019 for a hearing date of 24 September 2019 that was only communicated on 10 September 2019, making timely service impossible. The application for extension was filed within time.

Outcome

Application granted with extended time for service of chamber summons up to 5 December 2019

Facts

The applicants filed Miscellaneous Application No. 319 of 2019 seeking leave to amend a plaint in CS No. 13/2009. They wrote letters on 12 July, 23 July, and 6 September 2019 requesting a hearing date before serving the chamber summons on the respondents. The chamber summons was endorsed by the Registrar on 17 June 2019, but a hearing date of 24 September 2019 was only fixed and communicated on 10 September 2019. The time for service had expired by the time the hearing date was communicated. The 2nd applicant was informed on 19 September 2019 that the endorsed chamber summons had expired on 7 September 2019. This application for extension of time to serve was filed on 7 October 2019.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicants have shown sufficient reason for extension of time within which to serve the respondents with the chamber summons.
  2. Whether the application for extension of time was filed within 15 days after expiration as required by O.5 r.1(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules.

Orders

  • Application granted.
  • The time within which to serve the 1st and 2nd respondent with copies of Chamber Summons in MA No. 319 of 2019 is hereby extended.
  • The applicant shall serve the said 1st and 2nd respondent with copies of Chamber Summons in MA No. 319/2019 by 5 December 2019.
  • Costs of the application shall stay in the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Extension of Time — Service of Chamber Summons — Sufficient Reason
Where delay in service of a chamber summons is not occasioned by the applicant but by administrative delays within the court system, including endorsement of summons before a hearing date is fixed and failure to communicate the hearing date timeously, sufficient reason exists to grant an extension of time for service under O.5 r.1 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
Civil Procedure — Extension of Time — Computation of Time — When Time Begins to Run
Time for service of a chamber summons begins to run in practical terms from the date when the hearing date is fixed and communicated to the parties, not from the earlier date when the Registrar endorses the summons without a hearing date.

Legislation cited (4)

Cases cited (4)

  • Fredrick James Jjunju & Another v Madhivani Group Ltd & Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 688 of 2015)
  • Amdan Khan v Stanbic Bank (U) Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 900 of 2013)
  • Kanyabwera v Tumwebaze (Civil Appeal No. 6 of 2004)
  • Jan Mohamed Alibhai Kaba & Others v Haji Sulaiman Mugwaji (Miscellaneous Application No. 73 of 1993)

Full judgment

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

Nababi & Another v Administrator General & Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 500 of 2019) [2019] UGHCFD 49 (25 November 2019)
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.