TRASSACO FURNITURE LTD. vs. JELEEL COMPANY GHANA LTD & ZION ENERGY

The appellant, Trassaco Furniture Ltd, applied to set aside a writ of possession issued on 21 November 2019 in favour of Jeleel Company Ghana Ltd following a default judgment obtained against Zion Energy Ltd in a land suit concerning property at Adenta near Pantang Hospital. The appellant contended that it was in actual possession of part of the land, had erected structures on it, and had never been served with notice of the proceedings leading to the judgment and writ of possession, contrary to Order 43 rule 3 of C.I. 47. The respondent maintained that the writ was validly issued pursuant to the judgment and that the land was bare and unoccupied. Portion of judgment: the court reproduced paragraphs 8–14 of the supporting affidavit asserting possession, developments on the land, and lack of notice; and noted the respondent’s position that the writ was validly issued and the land was bare.

I have had the privilege of reading the judgment of my esteemed brother, Dzamefi JA and do agree with his analysis of the case and the conclusion reached. However, to enrich the discussion and on the law, I have decided to contribute my own thoughts. My Lords, this appeal is an invitation to this court to interfere in a judicial discretion that the lower court, the High Court, [General Jurisdiction], Accra exercised per its Ruling delivered 22/07/2020. In a short Ruling, the learned trial judge has held: “By Court: I have read the application and the affidavit in support, as well as the supplementary affidavit. I have also looked at the affidavit in opposition, I am of the opinion that this application has not been made out since there is no evidence on record to support the assertion of the applicant’s possession of the land which execution has been levied. On the premises, Order 43(3) is inapplicable in the instant case. In the premises the application is refused. The ex...