The granting of leave comes after the society’s failure to meet the deadline after Mothusi noted an appeal against his removal from the roll of practicing attorneys. When granting the leave, Justice Lakhvinder Singh Walia of the Court of Appeal (CoA) said though the time frames given by the LSB secretary leading to delay to file the notice were sketchy, it was not far-fetched. “The delay is not substantial and certainly not willful for the desire to oppose the appeal is manifest in the papers. The appeal is an important one and it is in the interest of justice that it be properly aired. Therefore leave to file out of time is granted and the notice of opposition to the appeal shall be filed within seven days of the order,” he said. Justice Walia pointed out that reasons for the default were dealt with at some length by the secretary explaining that he became aware of the notice of appeal, forwarded to him via email sometime after its receipt.
The secretary thereafter convened a round robin meeting of council members and got instructions to take steps to oppose the appeal and that the next step was to instruct attorneys to act on behalf of the society. The judge said the secretary explained that the various steps were only concluded in late October leading to a delay of some twelve days before the application for leave was filed. Justice Walia emphasised that according to the rules of the court, applications for grant of an indulgence by the court were to be made on notice supported by an affidavit setting forth acceptable reasons for the delay and reasonable prospects of success of the appeal. “This application is necessitated by the applicant’s failure to meet the deadline. An application for leave to file a notice of opposition, however does not fall in the category of ordinary applications for the court’s indulgence,” he said.
