November 14, 2022
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
Before Her Ladyship Justice Doreen G. Boakye-Agyei at the Ghana High Court, the Applicant sought to commit the Respondents to prison for contempt, alleging continued construction on disputed land despite service of an interlocutory injunction and an interim restraining order. The Respondents entered a conditional appearance, denied the allegations with Exhibits 1–7, and later secured dismissal of the underlying writ and all processes. Addressing preliminary arguments, the Court rejected aspects of the conditional appearance claim and reaffirmed that even a void order must be obeyed until set aside. Applying the quasi-criminal standard of proof, the Court found no evidentiary nexus linking the Respondents to the alleged breach and concluded the Applicant had not proved willful disobedience beyond reasonable doubt. Observing that the underlying suit had been dismissed, the Court dismissed the contempt application in limine, acquitted and discharged the Respondents, and awarded costs of GHC 1,000 per Respondent.
JUDGMENT
Applicants bring this instant application seeking to have the Respondents committed to
prison or punished for contempt of Court. The genesis of the matter is that the
Plaintiff/Applicant issued out his Writ of Summons together with an Application for
Interlocutory Injunction in this Court on 15/03/2022 against the Defendants/Respondents.
The Defendants/Respondents filed a Conditional Appearance to the Writ of Summons
and all the processes founded upon it. The named motion, Exhibit A, was served on the
Respondents herein which is labeled Exhibit B.
It is the case of Applicants herein that notwithstanding the pendency of the motion
Exhibit A, the Respondents continued the named interference with the subject matter
land disdainfully and in total disregard and or disrespect to the authority of the Court.
The Applicant has exhibited Exhibit C as proof thereof. The Court in the interim granted
the Application restraining both parties in effect. It is also the case of Applicants that even
after the restraint order was placed on both parties and served on the Respondents, they
have continued with the construction disdainfully and in total disregard of the restraint
order on them and that the proof thereof are Exhibits D & D1.
Applicants submit that the Respondents committed acts contemptuous of the High Court
which constituted the disobedience of the Court. It is the further case of the Applicant
that the pictorial exhibits in Exhibit A are in sharp contrast with same in Exhibit C which
shows a remarkable progression of the construction which Exhibit A sought to injunct.
Further, that Exhibit C is also in sharp contrast with Exhibit D1 which is evidence of the
continued construction. Applicants thus submit that the combined effect of Exhibits C
and D1 is that the Respondent cares not to obey the Orders of the Court and deserve
severe punishment by the Court. The Applicants are of the view that the Respondents
have demonstrated that they have no modicum of respect for the sanctity of authority of
the Court and have accordingly arrogated unto themselves powers greater than that of
the Court. Applicants contend that Respondents conduct is contemptuous and deserving
severe punishment because their conduct has brought the administration of justice into
disrepute and or disrespect. Finally the Applicant prays that the conduct of the
Respondent is willful and deserves to be punished severely by convicting and
committing them to pris