Former partner of Econet Media in the Kwese TV business, Mr Dish, failed to show it needed to raid Econet and Cassava Smartech to obtain accounting records before these could be possibly destroyed, the High Court has ruled.
Mr Dish had approached the High Court seeking confirmation of a provisional order granted to it last year to search premises belonging to Cassava Smartech and Econet.
Dismissing the application for confirmation of the provisional order by Mr Dish, Justice Paul Musithu said the company had no real apprehension that Econet posed any threat of hiding or destroying evidence as postulated, and ordered the Sheriff to return to Econet all the information it had taken.
But Justice Musithu found that Mr Dish's conduct was not consistent with a party that harboured any apprehension that evidence could be destroyed or spirited away, since it waited 13 months before approaching the courts.
Justice Musithu said the importance of disclosure was central to applications of this nature and in the final analysis, found that Mr Dish failed to discharge the onus for the granting of an Anton Piller.
