Jeebhai v Minister of Home Affairs

The first appellant launched an application in the Pretoria High Court seeking declaratory relief that the arrest, detention and removal from South Africa of Khalid Mahmood Rashid in October–November 2005 were unlawful and unconstitutional. The respondents opposed the application and counter-applied for contempt of court orders against the appellants’ attorney, Mr Zehir Omar, and his assistant, alleging contravention of an order prohibiting publication of certain documents. The High Court dismissed the main application and refused leave to appeal. Leave to appeal was later granted by the Supreme Court of Appeal. On appeal, the record filed consisted of 12 volumes containing a vast amount of irrelevant, inadmissible and unrelated material from other proceedings. The appellants’ attorney certified that the entire record should be read and that no core bundle was necessary. This caused extensive confusion and wasted judicial resources. By the time of the appeal hearing, Rashid had been released in Pakistan, was not a party to the proceedings, and the matter was no longer urgent.

The appeal was struck off the roll. The third appellant, Mr Zehir Omar, was ordered to pay the wasted costs of the day, including all costs relating to the appeal record, de bonis propriis.

The case is significant for its firm stance on appellate procedure and professional responsibility. It underscores the Supreme Court of Appeal’s intolerance for flagrant non-compliance with its rules governing appeal records and affirms its power to strike matters from the roll and order attorneys to pay costs personally. The judgment is frequently cited on the duties of legal practitioners in preparing appeal records and the circumstances in which de bonis propriis costs orders are appropriate.