Tata Chemicals Magadi Limited v County Governor, Kajiado County & another; National Environmental Management Authority & another (Interested Parties) [2020] KEELC 469 (KLR)
- Court
- Environment & Land Court
- Case number
- 469
- Citation
- [2020] KEELC 469 (KLR)
The Court finds that the subordinate court lacked pecuniary jurisdiction and thus the suit is still pending. The Court cannot transfer a suit filed in a court lacking jurisdiction to a court with jurisdiction.
Facts
Applicant filed a suit in Kajiado Chief Magistrate's Court (ELC 21 of 2019) seeking various orders including injunctive relief. The subordinate court issued a temporary injunction and later ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Issues
- Whether Kajiado CM ELC 21 of 2019 should be transferred to the Environment and Land Court at Kajiado for hearing and final determination.
- Whether the subordinate court's ruling on jurisdiction is binding on the Environment and Land Court.
Reasoning
The Court of Appeal has held that it would be illegal for the High Court to transfer a suit filed in a court lacking jurisdiction to a court with jurisdiction. The subordinate court's ruling on jurisdiction is not binding on the Environment and Land Court.
Outcome
The Application is dismissed.
Authorities cited
Legislation (2)
- Civil Procedure Act
- Civil Procedure Rules
Cases cited (4)
- Gipson Kiplangat Langat v Kenya Kazi Services Limited (2012) eKLR
- Sharad Wadhia v Wadhia Polymers EA Limited (2020) eKLR
- Phoenix of East Africa Assurance Co. Ltd v S M Thiga T/A Newspaper Service (2019) eKLR
- Equity Bank Limited v Bruce Mutie Mutuku t/a Diani Tour Travel (2016) eKLR
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