The court held that the mere fact that the prosecuting authority has charged the prison warders with murder does not amount to proof of their guilt, and thus does not automatically entitle the plaintiffs to judgment in the civil suit. The application to strike out the defence was found to be premature because the criminal proceedings against the prison warders had not been concluded. The court emphasized that the defence raised triable issues that should be canvassed at a full trial, and that the plaintiffs should have awaited the outcome of the criminal proceedings before seeking to strike out the defence. Accordingly, the application was dismissed with costs.