Case No. ZC14D01201

(1st April 1998) for the proposition that a court may be entitled to draw adverse inferences from the absence and/or silence of a witness who might be expected to have material evidence to give on an issue in the action. If the court is willing to do so, such inferences may go to strengthen the evidence adduced by the other party or to weaken the evidence adduced by the party who might reasonably have been expected to call the witness. There must, however, be some evidence, however weak, adduced by the other party on the matter in question before the court is entitled to draw the desired inference. In other words, there must be a case to answer. The court must, however, consider the reason advanced for the absence of the witness. If the court is satisfied as to that explanation, no adverse inference can be drawn. If something short of a full explanation is given but there is an explanation, even if not wholly satisfactory, the potential detrimental effect of the absence or silence may be reduced or nullified. Mr Scott QC, who appears for Sarla submits to me that there is a satisfactory explanation for her absence. 7.Mr Chamberlayne QC and Ms Owens, who appear on behalf of the First Respondent, Ashish Thakkar and Mr Scott for the Second and Third Respondents, Sarla and Ahuti refer me to the law on sham. They argue that the Applicant cannot succeed unless she shows that the 2012 structure that holds the shares in the Group is a sham. I was referred to the well-known dicta in