Principles

·  CIVIL PROCEDURE — Admissions — Withdrawal only if made by mistake, An admission may not be withdrawn unless it was made by mistake.

CIVIL PROCEDURE — Admissions — Withdrawal only if made by mistake, An admission may not be withdrawn unless it was made by mistake.

Judgment

 Advocates. Gireis Assad ……………………………for plaintiff

Abdel Moneim Medani …………………………...for defendant

M. Y. Mudawi, P.J. July 1, 1962:— This is an action raised by plaintiff, R.iad Abdel Shaheed, against defendant, Ibrahim Hafiz, an employee of the Mechanical Transport Department, Khartoum, for the recovery of £S.3l34.270m/ms., being money lent (together with interest thereon) to defendant. Plaintiff also claimed the sale or foreclosure of property of defendant mortgaged as a security for theloan. On March 17, 1962 defendant appeared alone, i.e., without legal representative, and he admitted in Court that he owes plaintiff £S.2800.000m/ms.

On April 15, 1962’ plaintiff appeared by advocate Gireis Assad and defendant was represented by advocate Abdel Moneim Medani. Advocate Abdel Moneim informed the Court that when defendant admitted that he owed plaintiff IS.2800.000m/ms he did so by mistake. Plaintiff was not sure of his accounts, as the debt involves a complicated system of interest, etc. Defendant’s advocate then applied to withdraw the admission made by defendant. Plaintiff objected to the application for withdrawal and put before the Court questions from different sources.

Undoubtedly this Cotirt has the power to allow withdrawal of an admission, provided that it is satisfied such admission was made by mistake; “even an admission made by mistake may be allowed to be withdrawn and the pleading amended accordingly.” Mulla, Code of Civil Procedure 595 12th ed. 1953). “Where it is shown that an admission was made by mistake the party may be allowed to amend his pleadings . ... “Mulla, Code of, Civil Procedure 688 (12th ed. 1953)

Although the Court is empowered to allow withdrawal of admission yet it must act carefully in this field. It must be satisfied that the admission was made by mistake, i.e., genuinely

The question to be answered by our Court in this case is: “Did defendant make the admission by mistake ?

Defendant is a store-keeper of the Mechanical Transport Department. He looks miserable and unhappy with signs of premature age, obviously a chronic victim of money-lenders. I have nothing.before me to show that he was telling a lie when he alleged that he made the admission by mistake. The calculation of interest is not an easy matter and many people, specially the indifferent types such as defendant in this case, are apt to go wrong on it.

In view of the above I decide that plaintiff made the admission by mistake and that therefore the withdrawal is to be allowed.

Editors’ Note: Accord, Zeidan Bireinia v. Abdel Moneim Towns HC CS-241-1960 (Mohamed Yousif Mudawi, P.1).