JUDGMENT OF OMARI-SASU J.
From the amended indorsement on the plaintiff’s writ of summons, the plaintiff has among other relief’s prayed for: “(a) An order revoking the letters of administration granted to the defendant to administer the estate of Kwabena Ofosu alias Kwabena Kufuor (deceased).”
I should like to observe from the onset that no citation was filed by the plaintiff either before or at the time he commenced the present action calling on the defendant to bring his letters of administration to the registry of this honourable court and show cause why the letters of administration should not be revoked.
After the close of pleadings and summons for directions had been taken, formal hearing of the case commenced after which the plaintiff closed his case. It was at this stage that learned counsel for the defendant raised a preliminary legal objection to the trial. The substance of the said objection is that in an action in which a plaintiff seeks, inter alia, the revocation of letters of administration granted to the defendant, the plaintiff is bound to file a citation before or at the time of filing the writ and the citation must call upon the defendant to deposit his letters of administration with the registry of the court and show cause why his grant of letters should not be revoked. When the plaintiff was called to reply to the legal objection raised on behalf of the defendant he could not seriously resist the objection.
For a resolution of this problem one must look at section 67 of the Administration of Estates Act, 1961 (Act 63) which provides as follows:
“67. Where administration has been granted in respect of any estate of
a deceased person, no person shall have power to bring any action or
otherwise act as executor of the deceased person in respect of the
estate comprised in or affected by the grant until the grant has been
recalled or revoked.”
(The emphasis is mine.) Halsbury's Laws of England (3rd ed.), Vol. 16, para. 518 at 257, gives a clear elucidation of the procedure applicable and states:
"Manner of obtaining revocation". Revocation may be obtained either
voluntarily or by compulsory proceedings. In the former case evidence
is filed setting out the circumstances, and the order may be made on
motion or by a registrar. In the latter case a writ is issued, and a
citation is served upon the grantee [citee] by the citor requiring him
[grantee-citee] to bring the grant into the prin
