REPUBLIC v. HIGH COURT, ACCRA

ANIN YEBOAH JSC:

The supervisory jurisdiction of this court has been invoked to prohibit the High Court, Accra from hearing the case intituled as: suit № BD 6/2007: GHANA PORTS & HARBOURS AUTHORITY & ANOTHER V. CONCORD MEDIA LIMITED & ANOTHER and two contempt applications pending before the same judge.

In an affidavit supporting the application, the second defendant to the suit, one ALFRED OGBAMEY, complains against the presiding judge Mr. Justice Benson and catalogued several allegations of judicial impropriety against the said judge.

The first allegation relates to a petition which he lodged at the Chief Justice’s office out of which the Chief Justice advised the learned judge to uphold the scales of justice evenly between the parties. The Chief Justice, however, did not transfer the case from Mr. Justice Benson as requested by the applicants herein.

Subsequent to the above event, the deponent stated in the affidavit that on one occasion when the case was called and their lawyer was absent, the said judge made certain comments against the deponent to the effect that he had sent “a bogus petition” to cause the delay of the case. He further deposed to the fact the learned judge has described him as “a very cantankerous person”.

The applicants naturally view this comments as a basis for alleging bias, ridicule and prejudice against them. They are of the opinion that given the uncomplimentary remarks by the learned judge they would not get justice from the court and pray this court for an order of prohibition to prevent the learned judge Mr. Justice Benson from proceeding to hear the case. Annexed to the affidavit is a copy of the petition which the applicants sent to the Chief Justice for her intervention.

The application has been opposed by the interested party who is the plaintiff in the action at the High Court in which the second applicant and the Concord Media Limited have been sued for damages for defamation and other ancillary reliefs. On the 30/04/2010, the learned judge himself swore to an affidavit in which he stoutly denied all the damning allegations of judicial impropriety leveled against him in the affidavit in support. Annexed to the affidavit is a Certified True Copy of the record of proceedings dated the 14/12/2009 showing the submissions of counsel for the interested party. The applicants filed a further affidavit in reply on 14/07/2010 in which they raised concerns about the conduct of the trial judge for swearing to an affidavit in