Wakilii

The Ramgarhia Sikh Society & Ors v The Ramgarhia Education Society Limited & Ors (Misc. Application No. 352 of 2015)

High Court · [2016] UGHCCD 12 · 2016 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to set aside consent judgment entered in underlying civil suit
Decision
Application to set aside consent judgment dismissed

Observed later treatment

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Holding

The High Court dismissed an application to set aside a consent judgment, holding that the applicants failed to prove fraud or deceit on a balance of probabilities. The court found that persons signing the consent had authority as trustees, that lawyers had instructions to enter consent, and that failure to prove who the true trustees were was fatal to the fraud allegation. The court admitted a late-filed affidavit in reply in the interests of justice where the delay was minimal.

Outcome

Application to set aside consent judgment dismissed

Facts

The applicants were Sikh Society entities that owned land on Nakivubo Road. A management committee including the 2nd to 4th respondents was appointed to dispose of the land. After incorporation of the 1st respondent company, the land was sold for USD 2,717,000 and proceeds deposited in the 1st respondent's account. The applicants filed Civil Suit No. 392 of 2014. Before trial, a consent judgment was entered on 3 September 2015. The applicants alleged the consent was signed by persons without authority and that the 3rd applicant did not sign. They sought to set aside the consent on grounds of fraud and deceit. The applicants claimed former lawyers acted without instructions and were induced by payment of 80 million shillings as costs.

Issues

  1. Whether the respondents' affidavit in reply was filed out of time and if so whether it should be struck out.
  2. Whether the consent judgment in Civil Suit 392 of 2014 was obtained by fraud and deceit.
  3. Whether the applicant is entitled to the orders sought in the application.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs of the application awarded to the respondents.
  • Costs of the preliminary point of law awarded to the applicants.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Consent Judgments — Setting Aside — Grounds for Interference
A consent judgment may be set aside only if obtained by fraud, collusion, agreement contrary to court policy, consent given without sufficient material facts, misapprehension or ignorance of material facts, or for reasons that would enable a court to set aside an agreement.
Civil Procedure — Affidavits in Reply — Time Limits — Extension of Time
An affidavit in reply to an application must be filed within 15 days from the date of service. Where an affidavit is filed out of time, the court may in the interests of justice exercise its discretion to enlarge time and admit the affidavit, particularly where the delay is minimal.
Contract Law — Consent Judgments — Authority to Enter Consent
An advocate who is generally instructed to pursue a court case by his client also has instructions to enter consent unless limited instructions have been given to exclude powers to enter consent.
Civil Procedure — Trustees — Authority to Sue and Be Sued — Validity of Contracts
Under the Trustees Incorporation Act section 1(3), trustees have authority to sue and be sued. Every contract entered into by trustees which is valid according to the constitution or rules of the body is valid and binding even without a common seal.
Civil Procedure — Setting Aside Consent — Burden of Proof — Fraud and Deceit
A party alleging fraud or deceit as grounds to set aside a consent judgment bears the burden of proving those allegations on a balance of probabilities. Bare assertions without documentary or relevant evidence are insufficient.

Legislation cited (8)

Cases cited (7)

  • Attorney General v James Kamoga & Anor (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 08 of 2014)
  • Hirani v Kassam [1952] EA 131
  • Stop and See (U) Limited v Tropical Africa Bank (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 333 of 2010)
  • Koluo Joseph Andrew & 20 Others v Attorney General & Ors (Miscellaneous Cause No. 106 of 2010)
  • Peter Mulira v Mitchell Cotts Limited (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 15 of 2007)
  • BM Technical Services v Francis X Lugunda [1999] KALR 821
  • Lenina Kemigisha Mbabazi/StarFish Ltd v Jing International Trading Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 344 of 2012)

Full judgment

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

The Ramgarhia Sikh Society & Ors v The Ramgarhia Education Society Limited & Ors (Misc. Application No. 352 of 2015) [2016] UGHCCD 12 (15 March 2016)
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.