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June 26, 1972
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
JUDGMENT OF COUSSEY J.
The application is for bail pending appeal. The applicants were convicted for perjury contrary to section 152 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1960 (Act 30), on 14 June 1972 by me sitting at the High Court, Sekondi. The circumstances leading to their conviction were that Moses K. Baiden procured Kwame Essel and both agreed to fabricate evidence with the intent to pervert the cause of justice in Civil Suit No. 44/71 between John Lefred Ansah and Moses K. Baiden. It is worthy of note that if the applicants had succeeded in their fabrication, and if Moses K. Baiden had won in that civil case, he would have been entitled to a total sum of about ¢42,000.00 in damages. This amount would have been obtained by fraud on the court.
The High Court is vested with jurisdiction to grant bail. The exercise of the jurisdiction is governed by certain considerations which I shall refer to later. It is necessary to state that bail pending appeal is not granted as a matter of course. It is material that before such an application is filed and argued worthy consideration is given to the request; because on the application succeeding, a convicted prisoner is allowed to stay out of prison until his appeal is heard. If the appeal fails, as pointed out by my brother Taylor J. in Fynn v. The Republic [1971] 2 G.L.R. 433 at p. 437, it has become the practice that the prisoner is not sent back to prison, but perhaps his sentence is reduced or he is fined: see State v. Halm, Court of Appeal (Full Bench) 7 August 1969, unreported; digested in (1969) C.C. 155 and State v. Hawa Banda, High Court, Kumasi, 26 July 1965, unreported. I have personally held the view that fines as punishments in certain cases entitle the rich man to buy the right to break the law. Where the offence of which a person is convicted is one unbecoming of the person, I have maintained that a short term of imprisonment in the circumstances could be an adequate deterrent punishment. I do not support the legislature in providing an alternative of a fine for the offence of perjury, I am more inclined to prefer the provision in section 440 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ceylon which in effect provides that if any person gives false evidence in any judicial proceedings he shall lawfully be sentenced summarily to imprisonment either simple or rigorous, for any period not exceeding three months. It is against such background that I am chary in readily granting bail pending appeal unless
AI Generated Summary
This judgment by COUSSEY J. of the High Court, Sekondi, addresses an application for bail pending appeal by convicts Moses K. Baiden and Kwame Essel. They were convicted on 14 June 1972 of perjury under section 152(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, arising from an attempt to fabricate evidence intended to pervert justice in Civil Suit No. 44/71 between John Lefred Ansah and Baiden. Had the scheme succeeded, Baiden would have obtained about ¢42,000 in damages by defrauding the court. The application was grounded on sections 26(5) and (6) of the Courts Act, 1971 (Act 372). The judge reviewed Ghanaian principles and English authorities cautioning that bail pending appeal is not granted as a matter of course. Crucially, he held that once an appeal is lodged, only the appellate court may grant bail or suspend execution under Act 372; the High Court lacks mandate. He further concluded that after sentencing, the sentencing court cannot grant bail pending appeal. The application was refused.