APALOO, J.
On the 28th June, 1960, the plaintiff issued against the defendant a writ claiming damages for assault, wrongful arrest and false imprisonment. To the writ was attached a statement of claim. In so far as it is material to the point at issue, the plaintiff’s case was that the defendant made a consciously false complaint of theft against him to the police by reason of which he was arrested and imprisoned by the Mankranso Local Authority Police for a number of hours. The defendant controverted these facts and in particular it was denied that the complaint, which the defendant admittedly made to the police, was false or malicious. In the last paragraph of the statement of defence it was pleaded that the plaintiff’s writ disclosed no cause of action and must be struck out.
When trial opened before me on the 20th September, the plaintiff failed to turn up. Both counsel agreeing to that course, I decided that the averment in the last paragraph of the statement of defence be heard a…