Siti Norma Yaakob J

Before the senior assistant registrar, a preliminary objection was raised by the plaintiffs on the third defendant's application to have a judgment in default entered against him on 22 September 1989 set aside. The preliminary objection was whether the third defendant, a bankrupt, had the locus standi to make the application. The senior assistant registrar dismissed the objection and the plaintiffs appealed to me against that dismissal.

It is not disputed that the third defendant was adjudged a bankrupt on 3 May 1991 and when he applied to have the judgment in default set aside on 17 June 1991, he was and still is an undischarged bankrupt. Under such circumstances, it is the plaintiffs' contention that the third defendant needed the sanction of the official assignee under s 38(1)(a) of the Bankruptcy Act 1967 to file the application. Since no such sanction had been obtained, he had no locus standi to make the application.

In rebuttal, the third defendant maintains that s 38(1)(a) limits the obtaining of the sanction to any action to be brought by the bankrupt but not an application such as the one that he has filed in these proceedings. To that extent,