DANAWI & SONS v. DAKO

JUDGMENT OF SARKODEE-ADOO, J.S.C.

Sarkodee-Adoo, J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the court. This is an appeal from the ruling of Smith, J. dated the 19th March, 19581 making an order of certiorari quashing the order of the district magistrate dated the 9th November, 1955, for the sale of house No. D727/4, and also the certificate of purchase dated the 9th November, 1955, of the said premises.

The facts as found by the learned trial judge in the said ruling are as follows:

“The applicant Lako, with his sisters, owned land at Tudu, Accra, on which there was formerly a building known as D.727/4. By letter dated 7th April, 1947, he requested the Accra Town Council to send all notices about rates to him at his address in Koforidua. This letter was acknowledged. On the 9th November, 1955, the town clerk at Accra brought a motion ex parte before the district magistrate, Accra for an order for the sale of certain houses (one of which was the applicant's) for which the rates had not been paid. The magistrate made an order for sale and the respondents bought the land in question on 31st May, 1956, and were granted a certificate of purchase on 22nd June, 1956. It was admitted by the Accra Municipal Council that the town clerk of the council had not sent the applicant a registered letter demanding payment of the rate due, which he was bound to do in accordance with section 20 of Schedule 5 of the Municipal Councils Ordinance No. 9 of 1953. The result was that the applicant was given no opportunity to pay the small outstanding sum of £G1 17s., and the court’s order of sale and the actual sale of the land took place without his knowledge.”

[p.74]

The applicant therefore brought these proceedings by certiorari for the said order.

By a ruling of Windsor-Aubrey, J. dated the 24th May, 19572, the applicant was granted an order of enlargement of time for applying for leave to apply for an order of certiorari or mandamus concerning the said order of the district magistrate, Accra. An appeal from the said order to the Court of Appeal was dismissed on the 28th October, 19573 on the ground that the order appealed from does not fall within the ambit of section 3 of the West African Court of Appeal Ordinance4 and that the court had no jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. Subsequent to this dismissal the application for an order of certiorari or in the alternative for an order of mandamus came before the court pursuant to the leave dated the 11th December, 1957, on the 31