[2023] KEELRC 557 (KLR)
The court found that it was unable to make a ruling on the application for leave to amend the petition because the relevant pleadings and documents referenced by the parties were missing from the physical court file. The absence of these documents rendered the record incomplete, and as such, the court could not...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2023] KEELRC 557 (KLR)
- Parties
- Applicant: Paul Ephantus Mutegi; Respondent: Chief Executive Officer Kenya Leather Development Council; Respondent: Kenya Leather Development Council
- Court
- Employment and Labour Relations Court
- Court Station
- Employment and Labour Relations Court at Nairobi
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Case Number
- Petition E125 of 2021
- Procedural Posture
- Constitutional Petition / Ruling on Application for Leave to Amend Petition
- Outcome
- No substantive determination; file returned to Registry for completion of record.
- Judges
- J Rika
- Legal Topics
- Pleadings in Employment Petitions, Amendment of Petition, Court Record Management
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Paul Ephantus Mutegi
Applicant
Chief Executive Officer Kenya Leather Development Council
Respondent
Kenya Leather Development Council
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Constitutional Petition / Ruling on Application for Leave to Amend Petition
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the court can proceed to rule on the application for leave to amend the petition in the absence of the relevant pleadings from the court file.
- 2 What steps should be taken when the court file is incomplete and essential documents are missing.
Ratio Decidendi
The court found that it was unable to make a ruling on the application for leave to amend the petition because the relevant pleadings and documents referenced by the parties were missing from the physical court file. The absence of these documents rendered the record incomplete, and as such, the court could not proceed to determine the application. The court ordered that the file be returned to the Registry for the parties' attention and that the matter would only proceed once the record was confirmed to be complete.
Court Disposition
No substantive determination; file returned to Registry for completion of record.
Orders
- The file is returned to the Registry for the parties’ attention.
- Once the record is complete, the parties shall move the court for a fresh ruling date.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
21 paragraphs
Mutegi v Chief Executive Officer Kenya Leather Development Council & another (Petition E125 of 2021) [2023] KEELRC 557 (KLR) (28 February 2023) (Ruling)
Neutral citation: [2023] KEELRC 557 (KLR)
Republic of Kenya
In the Employment and Labour Relations Court at Nairobi
Petition E125 of 2021
J Rika, J
February 28, 2023
Between
Paul Ephantus Mutegi
Petitioner
and
Chief Executive Officer Kenya Leather Development Council
1st Respondent
Kenya Leather Development Council
2nd Respondent
Ruling
1. The documents contained in this file are: -a.An order given on August 5, 2021, by Hon Judge Mbaru.b.Certificate of urgency dated July 30, 2021. c.Notice of motion dated July 30, 2021. d.Supporting affidavit of the petitioner sworn on July 30, 2021. e.Annexures to the affidavit above, marked Pem 1 to Pem 4. f.Petition dated July 30, 2021. g.Supporting affidavit sworn by the petitioner on July 30, 2021, and a receipt issued by the judiciary upon filing of the petition, in the amount of Kshs 7,780.
2. The rest are handwritten proceedings of the court. In the proceedings, parties mentioned notice of appointment of advocates; supplementary affidavit by the petitioner; written submissions; amended petition; response to the amended petition; and application for leave to amend petition, dated September 19, 2022.
3. The court was to make a ruling on notice, but upon perusal of the physical file, has been unable to find the pleadings referred to by the parties, in the proceedings of the court. The matter is therefore not ready for the ruling, in the absence from the file, of the pleadings. The file as forwarded from the Registry to the undersigned, is incomplete, and the court is not able to make a ruling on amendment of the petition.
It Is Ordered :-a.The file is returned to the Registry for the parties’ attention.b.Once the record is complete, the parties shall move the court for a fresh ruling date.c.The file shall be mentioned before the Deputy Registrar for confirmation that the record is complete.
DATED, SIGNED AND RELEASED TO THE PARTIES ELECTRONICALLY, AT NAIROBI, UNDER THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND JUDICIARY COVID-19 GUIDELINES, THIS 28TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 2023. JAMES RIKAJUDGE