JUDGMENT

Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah JC:

(Enclosure 45)

Preliminary

[1] This action involves the plaintiff, who is the Minister of Health, suing the defendant, an Islamic preacher, over some alleged defamatory statements allegedly authored and published by the defendant. In the course of the proceedings, the plaintiff complained of some procedural non-compliance on the part of the defendant. The plaintiff contends that the defendant entered a late appearance despite the fact that the Writ and Statement of Claim were properly served on him. The plaintiff further contends that, under these circumstances, the defendant should not have filed the Statement of Defence and Amended Statement of Defence without first obtaining this Court's leave.

[2] As a result, the plaintiff is now applying by way of encl 45 for an order that the Statement of Defence dated 14 June 2022 ("Statement of Defence") and Amended Statement of Defence dated 27 June 2022 ("Amended Statement of Defence") be struck out or set side pursuant to O 18 r 19(1)(d) of the Rules of 2012 and/or O 12 r 5(2) of the Rules of 2012 and/or O 92 r 4 of the Rules of 2012 on the grounds that, amongst others, the pleadings are an abuse o