Lim Beng Choon J:

[1] This is an appeal against the decision of the Senior Assistant Registrar of this Court (SAR) given on 9 February 1990 dismissing the defendants' application made by way of summons-in-chambers pursuant to O 18 r 19 of the Rules of the High 1980 to strike out the writ action instituted by the plaintiff and to stay all proceedings in the action pending the disposal of defendants' application. It is important to note that although in their application to strike out the writ action the defendants had asserted therein that they would rely on all the four grounds specified in the said O 18 r 19(1) nevertheless in his submission at the hearing before the SAR on 18 October 1989, the Senior Federal Counsel representing the three defendants submitted that he would rely only on the ground that the writ and statement of claim of the plaintiff had not revealed any cause of action; hence the defendants had not filed any affidavit in support of their application as they were precluded from doing so under subrule (2) of O 18 r 19.