DAKE v. DORWU PRACTICE NOTE

FRANCIOS J, delivering a short judgment of the Supreme [High] Court, addressed a procedural question concerning applications for writs of attachment under Order 44, r. 2 of the Supreme [High] Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 1954 (L.N. 140A). After leave to issue a writ had been obtained, the issue was whether an applicant must serve on the respondents the papers filed in the application, specifically affidavits and exhibits, together with the notice of motion. Noting that the present White Book (Supreme Court Practice) had undergone changes not yet mirrored in local civil procedure, the judge turned to the authoritative old White Book (Annual Practice), particularly the 1961 edition at page 1081, which states that in applications for attachment, copies of affidavits and exhibits must be served with the notice of motion. Recognizing this as established practice in the jurisdiction, FRANCIOS J ruled that applicants must comply with the service requirement.