Order 241. Discovery by interrogatories In any cause or matter, the Claimant or Defendant may deliver interrogatories in writing for the examination of the opposing party or any one or more of such parties and such interrogatories when delivered, shall have a note at the end of it stating which of the interrogatories each person is required to answer. Interrogatories shall be delivered within seven days of close of pleadings. — Discovery and Inspection

In any cause or matter, the Claimant or Defendant may deliver interrogatories in writing for the examination of the opposing party or any one or more of such parties and such interrogatories when delivered, shall have a note at the end of it stating which of the interrogatories each person is required to answer. Interrogatories shall be delivered within seven days of close of pleadings.

Interrogatories shall be as in Form 20 with such modifications or variations as circumstances may require.

Where any party to a cause or matter is a limited or unlimited company, body corporate, firm, enterprise, friendly society, association or any other body or group of persons, whether incorporated or not, empowered by law to sue or be sued, whether in its own name or in the name of any officer or other person, any opposing party may deliver interrogatories to any member or officer of such party.

Any objection to answering any one or more of several interrogatories on the ground that it is or they are scandalous or irrelevant, may be taken in the affidavit in answer at any time before commencement of trial.

Interrogatories shall be answered by affidavit to be filed within seven days, or within such other time as the Judge may allow. As many copies of the affidavit in answer shall be supplied to the Registrar as there are parties to be served.

An affidavit in answer to interrogatories shall be as in Form 21 with such modifications or variations as circumstances may require.

Where any person interrogated omits to answer or answers insufficiently, the trial Judge shall, on application, issue an Order requiring him to answer, or answer further as the case may be.

(1) Any party may in writing request any other party to any cause or matter to make discovery on oath of the documents that are or have been in his possession, custody, power or control, relating to any matter in question in the case.

(2) Request for discovery shall be served within seven days of close of pleadings, and the party on whom such a request is served shall answer on oath completely and truthfully within seven days of the request or within such other time as the Judge may allow.

(3) Every affidavit in answer to a request for discovery of documents shall:
(a) be accompanied by office copies of documents referred to therein;
(b) specify which, if any, of the listed documents he objects to producing, stating the grounds of his objection and it shall be as in Form 22 with such modifications or variations as circumstances may require.

(1) Where a document required to be attached to any process or produced under this or any other Rule is a business book, a Judge may upon application order a copy of any entry therein to be furnished and verified in an affidavit. Such affidavit shall be made by a person who keeps the book or under whose supervision the book is kept.

(2) Notwithstanding that a copy has been furnished and verified, a Judge may order inspection of the book from which the copy was made.

(3) Where on an application for furnishing and verification, a privilege is claimed for any document, the Judge may inspect the documents for the purpose of deciding the validity of the claim of privilege.

(4) The Judge may suo motu or on application, and whether or not an affidavit of documents has already been ordered or made, make an Order requiring any party to state by affidavit whether any particular document is or are or has or have at any time been in the possession, custody, power or control of that party, when that party parted with the same and what has become of same.

(5) The Judge may suo motu or otherwise, order or direct or require a party (including a Defendant who is not disputing the claim or otherwise defending), a counsel, a witness or a prospective witness or a non-party, to answer such interrogatories and furnish such discovery and inspection as the Judge may direct, in the interest of justice.

An Order for interrogatories or discovery or inspection made against any party, if served on his Legal Practitioner, shall be sufficient service to found an application for committal of a party for disobedience of the Order.

A Legal Practitioner upon whom an Order against any party for interrogatories or discovery or inspection is served under the last preceding Rule, who neglects without reasonable excuse to give notice thereof to his Client, shall be liable to committal.

Any party may at the trial of a cause, matter or issue, use in evidence any one or more of the answers or any part of an answer of the opposing party to interrogatories without putting in the others or the whole of such answer: Provided that the Judge may look at the whole of the answers and order that any of them may be put in.

In any action against or by a Sheriff in respect of any matter connected with the execution of his office, a Judge may, on application of either party, order that the affidavit to be made in answer either to interrogatories or to any order for discovery shall be made by the officer actually concerned.

This Order shall apply to persons under legal disability and their guardians.

(1) A party applying to inspect or copy documents or items in the custody or control of the opposing party, shall serve on such opposing party a request:

(a) to produce and permit the requesting party or its representative to inspect, copy, test or sample the following items in the opposing party’s possession, custody or control:
(i) any designated document or electronically stored information including writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, sound recordings, images and other data compilations stored in any medium from which any information can be obtained either directly or, if necessary, after translation by the opposing party into a reasonably useable form; or
(ii) any designated tangible thing;
(b) to permit entry into any designated land or other property possessed or controlled by the opposing party so that the requesting party may inspect, measure, survey, photograph, test or sample the property or any designated object or operation on it.

(2) The request referred to in Rule 1 of this Order shall:
(a) describe with reasonable particularity each item or category of items to be inspected, copied, tested or sampled;
(b) specify a reasonable time, place and manner for the inspection and for performing the related acts; and
(c) specify the form or forms in which electronically stored information is to be produced.

(3) The party to whom the request is directed must respond in writing within seven days after being served.

(4) For each item or category, the opposing party must either state that the inspection and related activities will be permitted as requested or state with specificity the grounds for objecting to the request with reasons. The opposing party may state that it will produce copies of documents or electronically stored information instead of permitting inspection and related acts. The production must be completed not later than the time for the inspection specified in the request or such time as the Court may order.

(5) An objection must state whether any material is being withheld and the basis of that objection, and an objection to part of an application must specify the part and permit inspection of the rest.

(6) While responding to an application for the production of electronically stored information, the opposing party may state an objection to the application for producing such information and if there is any such object or if no form was specified in the application, the opposing party must state the form or forms he intends to use.

(7) Unless otherwise stipulated or ordered by the Court, the following procedures shall apply to producing documents or electronically stored information namely:
(a) the opposing party must produce documents as they are kept in the usual course of business or must organise and label them to correspond to the categories in the request;
(b) where a request does not specify the form for producing electronically stored information, opposing party must produce it in a form or forms in which it is ordinarily maintained or in a reasonably useable form or forms; and
(c) the opposing party need not produce the same electronically stored information in more than one form.

(8) A non-party may be compelled to produce document or tangible things or permit an inspection, copying, testing or sampling.

(9) The disclosure of a document or its production for inspection, copying, testing or sampling does not constitute an admission of its authenticity or admissibility in the action.

Upon the application of any party, the Court may grant an Order permitting any party to the proceeding entry into any land, the subject matter of any proceedings, for the purpose of producing therefrom a litigation drawing or plan or map for use at the trial.