Order 29 — Discovery and Inspection

In any cause or matter, the Plaintiff or Defendant may deliver interrogatories in writing for the examination of the opposing parties 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 7 days of close of pleadings and shall form part of the agenda for pre-trial conference.

Interrogatories shall be in Form 18 with such modifications or variations as circumstances may require.

If 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 opposite 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 the pre-trial conference.

Interrogatories shall be answered by affidavit to be filed within 7 days, or within such other time as the Judge may allow. Two copies of the affidavit in answer shall be supplied to the Registrar.

An affidavit in answer to interrogatories shall be in Form 19 with such modifications or variations as circumstances may require.

If any person interrogated omits to answer or answers insufficiently, the Judge shall, on application, issue an order requiring the person to answer or to 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 the party’s possession, custody, power or control, relating to any matter in question in the case.

(2) The request for discovery shall be served within 7 days of close of pleadings and shall form part of the agenda of pre-trial conference.

(3) The party on whom such a request is served shall answer on oath completely and truthfully within 7 days of the request and it shall be dealt with at pre-trial conference.

(4) Every affidavit in answer to a request for discovery of documents shall be accompanied by office copies of documents referred to therein.

(5) The affidavit to be made by any person in answer to a request for discovery of documents shall specify which, if any, of the listed documents the person objects to producing, stating the grounds of the objection, and it shall be in Form 20 with such modifications or variations circumstances may require.

(1) Any process to be filed after the pre-trial conference shall be accompanied by copies of documents referred to in the process.

(2) Where a process filed is not accompanied by a document referred to therein the Judge may, on application, strike out the process.

(1) Where any document required to be attached to any process or produced under this or any other rule is a business book, the 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 supplied, the Judge may order inspection of the book from which the copy was made.

(3) The Judge may, upon application, whether or not an affidavit of document has been ordered or filed, make an order requiring any party to state by affidavit:

(a) whether any particular document or any class of documents is or has at any time been in the party’s possession, custody, power or control;

(b) when the party parted with the same and what has become of it.

An order for interrogatories or discovery or inspection made against any party if served on the party’s Legal Practitioner shall be sufficient service to found an application for committal of a party for disobedience to 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 the party, shall be liable to pay costs at the discretion of the Court.

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 opposite 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 matters connected with the execution of that 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.

(1) A party to a cause or matter shall be entitled at any time, by notice in writing, to give notice to any other party in whose pleading or affidavit reference is made to any document to produce the document for the inspection of the party giving the notice, or of his legal practitioner, and permit him or them to take copies of it.

Consequence of failure to comply with requirement of notice

(2) Any party not complying with the notice shall not afterwards be at liberty to put such document in evidence on his behalf in that action, unless he shall satisfy the Court or a Judge in chambers that the document relates only to his own title, he being a Defendant to the cause or matter, or that he had some other cause or excuse which the Court or Judge in chambers deems sufficient for not complying with the notice, in which case the Court or Judge in chambers may allow the same to be put in evidence on such terms as to costs and otherwise as the Court or Judge in chambers may think fit.

Notice to any party to produce any document referred to in his pleading or affidavit shall be as specified in Form 56 with such modifications or variations as circumstances may require.

The party to whom notice is given under rule 16 of this Order shall within 2 days from receipt of the notice, if all the documents therein referred to have been set forth by him in such affidavit as is mentioned in this Order, or if any of the documents referred to in that notice have not been set forth, then within 4 days from the receipt of such notice, deliver to the party giving the same a notice stating a time within 7 days from the delivery thereof at which the document or such of them as he does not produce, may be inspected at the office of his legal practitioner, or in the case of banker’s book or other books of account, or books in constant use for the purpose of any trade or business, at their usual place of custody and stating which (if any) of the document he objects to produce and on what grounds.

(1) Where the party served with notice under Rule 16 of this Order omits to notify a time for inspection, objects to give inspection, or offers inspection elsewhere than at the office of his legal practitioner, the Court or Judge in chambers may, on the application of the party desiring it make an order for inspection in such place and in such manner as the Court or Judge in chambers may think fit.

(2) The order shall not be made where and so far as the Court or Judge in chambers is of the opinion that it is not necessary either for disposing fairly of the action or for saving cost.

Affidavit in support of application when required

(3) Any application to inspect a document, except such as is referred to in the pleading, particulars or affidavit of the party against whom the application is made or disclosed in his affidavit of document, shall be founded upon an affidavit showing of what document inspection is sought, that the party applying is entitled to inspect them and that it is in the possession or power of the other party.

(1) Where inspection of any business book is applied for, the Court or a Judge in chambers may, if it or he thinks fit instead of ordering inspection of the original book, order a copy of any entry to be furnished and verified by the affidavit of some person who has examined the copy with the original entry and the affidavit shall state whether or not there is in the original book any and what erasure, interlineation or alteration.

(2) Notwithstanding that such copy has been supplied, the Court or Judge in chambers may order inspection of the book from which the copy was made.

(3) Where on an application for an order for inspection, privilege is claimed for a document, it shall be lawful for the Court or a Judge in chambers to inspect the document for the purpose of deciding as to the validity of the claim of privilege.

(4) The Court or a Judge in chambers may, on the application of any party to an action at any time, and whether an affidavit of the document shall or shall not have already been ordered or made, make an order requiring any other party to state by affidavit whether any document or any class of documents specified or indicated in the application is, or has, or have at any time been in his possession, custody or power, when he parted with same and what has become of it.

(5) Application for the order shall be made on an affidavit stating that in the belief of the deponent the party against whom the application is made has or has at some time had in his possession, custody or power of the document, or the class of the documents specified or indicated in the application and that it relates to a matter in question in the action.

Where the party from whom discovery of any kind or inspection is sought objects to the same, or any part of it, the Court or a Judge in chambers may, if satisfied that the right to the discovery or inspection sought depends on the determination of any issue or question in dispute in the action or that for any other reason it is desirable that any issue or question in dispute in the action should be determined before deciding upon the right to the discovery or inspection, order that such issue or question be determined first and reserve the question as to the discovery or inspection.

(1) Where any party fails to comply with the order to answer an interrogatory or for the discovery or inspection of a document, he shall be liable to committal.

Non-compliance with order for discovery

(2) The party shall also, if a Plaintiff, be liable to have his action dismissed for want of prosecution, and if a Defendant, to have his defence, if any, struck out and to be placed in the same position as if he had not defended, and the party interrogating may apply to the Court or a Judge in chambers for an order to that effect and an order may be made accordingly.

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