Van Reesema v Official Trustee in Bankruptcy

The appeal in Van Reesema v Official Trustee in Bankruptcy was brought by the bankrupt, the appellant, against the Official Trustee in Bankruptcy, the respondent. The central issue was whether the appellant was discharged from bankruptcy by operation of law under section 149(2) of the relevant legislation upon the expiration of three years from the date of his bankruptcy. Additionally, the court examined whether the objection by the trustee to the discharge of the bankrupt was entered on one of the statutory grounds.

The court was required to determine if the bankrupt's automatic discharge under section 149(2) was valid, as well as whether the objection by the trustee was grounded in one of the statutory provisions. The court held that the appellant was indeed discharged by operation of law after three years from the date of bankruptcy, which was 17 September 1979. The court also found that the objection by the trustee was not entered on a valid statutory ground, leading to the conclusion that the objection was not properly entered.

In allowing the appeal, the court set aside the order of 24 November 1982, which denied the appellant's application for amendment, and instead, the application for amendment was refused. The order of 4 January 1983, which was based on the objection by the trustee, was also set aside. Instead, the court declared that the appellant was discharged from bankruptcy upon the expiration of three years from the date of his bankruptcy. This resulted in the final orders being made as per the appeal decision.