RULING OF THE COURT
The applicant’s motion dated 4th November 2011 seeking extension of time for the filing of a Notice of Appeal against Sitati J’s judgment made on 10th August 2011 was dismissed by a single Judge of this Court. Dissatisfied, the applicant invoked the provisions of Rule 55(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules for the Court to reverse that dismissal.
When a reference to the Court is made from the decision of a single judge of the Court, the Court proceeds in a circumspect fashion and is very reluctant to interfere with the exercise of discretion by the single judge. The reason for this is two fold: first, as a general rule, the exercise of a judge’s unfettered discretion must be accorded due respect so that interference has to be on narrow and well-established bases. Second, it must always be remembered that when a judge of the Court exercises discretion alone, it is on behalf of the Court so that a reversal of a single Judge’s decision is actually a reversal of the Court’s …