2016
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This case involves an application for certiorari to quash a High Court decision that released attached properties of DKM Diamond Micro Finance Ltd to an official liquidator. The Supreme Court examined the legality of the company's winding-up process, the jurisdiction of the High Court in releasing the properties, and procedural issues raised by the applicants. The court affirmed the validity of the liquidation process initiated by the Bank of Ghana and the High Court's jurisdiction to release the properties to the liquidator. It ruled that the lack of a formal application by the liquidator did not deny the court jurisdiction to make the order. The Supreme Court emphasized the importance of equitable distribution of assets in liquidation proceedings and refused the application for certiorari, upholding the High Court's decision.
RULING
PWAMANG, JSC.
The facts giving rise to this application are as follows; DKM Diamond Micro Finance Ltd, hereafter referred to as “the Company”, was incorporated under the Companies Act, 1963 (Act 179) as a private Limited Liability Company on 1st August, 2013. It had its registered office at Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region and operated mainly in that Region and the three regions of Northern Ghana. It was licensed by the Bank of Ghana on 25th October, 2013 to operate as a Micro Finance Company. As part of its activities it took deposits from the general public and in turn contracted to pay rather astronomical monthly rates of interests to the depositors. By May of 2015 the Company ran into difficulties as it started defaulting in the timely payment of the extra ordinary monthly rates of interest it had promised its numerous customers.
Initially the Bank of Ghana intervened to ensure that the Company paid its depositors but that did not yield the needed results. Consequently some of them resorted to the law courts so different suits claiming various sums against the Company were filed in a number of courts. The applicants herein are two of such depositors who filed suit No. RPC 17/2016 in the High Court, Commercial Division, Sunyani against the company and two sister companies namely; DKM Group of Companies Ltd and DKM Transport Company Ltd, claiming for refund of their deposits in the sum of GH¢198,056.00 with interest at 54.465% per month. Judgment was entered in favour of Applicants herein on 18/01/2016 to recover a total sum of GH¢599,313.00 being principal, interest and costs. The Applicants went into execution and attached a Yutong Bus with Registration No. GT 4553-15 and LPG Gas Filling Station situate at Nandom in the Upper West Region.
However, before the properties could be sold, the Company was put into official liquidation upon a request by the Bank of Ghana to the Register of Companies. In order that they could continue with their court case, Applicants applied to the court for leave pursuant to Section 17 of the Bodies Corporate (Official Liquidation) Act, 1963 (Act 180). The application was granted. After that Applicants brought a motion to substitute the official liquidator, who is the Interested Party herein, for the Company and that too was granted.
In order to have the attached properties auctioned for Applicants to be paid their judgment debt of GHC599,313.00, they filed two motions; one in respect of the Yutong Bus praying f