DZADE vs. ABOAGYE [1982]DLCA2120

Date	1982-05-17
Suit No.
Citation No.	[1982]DLCA2120

JIAGGE JA

EDUSEI JA

MENSA BOISON J.A.

MONICA QUAYSON (MRS.) FOR THE APPELLANT.

E. D. KOM (WITH HIM GBEHO) FOR THE RESPONDENT.

[1982]DLCA2120
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >DZADE <o:p></o:p>vs. <o:p></o:p>ABOAGYE <o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>[1982-83] GLR 209<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

DATE:
17 MAY 1982<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 0in 0in">

MONICA QUAYSON (MRS.) FOR THE APPELLANT. <o:p></o:p>

E. D. KOM (WITH HIM GBEHO) FOR THE RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:
<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 0in 0in">

JIAGGE, EDUSEI AND MENSA BOISON JJ.A.<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>JUDGMENT OF EDUSEI J.A.<o:p></o:p>This is
an appeal from the judgment of his Honour the Circuit Judge, Mr. Dove, as he
then was, when he granted to the plaintiff-respondent (hereinafter referred to
as the plaintiff) a declaration of title to a parcel of land at Kotobabi,
together with certain ancillary reliefs. This was on 17 September 1979.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The chief
complaint of the defendant-appellant (hereinafter referred to as the defendant)
as can be gleaned from his grounds of appeal, may be summarised under two
heads, namely: (a) that the judgment was against the weight of the evidence,
and (b) that the trial judge faulted in his failure to apply the provisions of
section 2 of the Land Development (Protection of Purchasers) Act, 1960 (Act 2),
in favour of the defendant.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The facts
in this case are not seriously in dispute. The plaintiff based his case on a
conveyance he took from Alfred Kateinor Ocansey who in turn had the land
conveyed to him from Kwabla Noi Sekan in March 1972. This conveyance was
registered as number 606/1972 and it is exhibit A. This land in dispute forms
part of Osu stool land as declared by the judgment of the Court of Appeal dated
29 November 1960; and it covers a large tract of land at Maamobi, Kotobabi, and
Dzorwulu: Thus the plaintiff traces his root of title from the Osu stool. In a
nutshell there was a conveyance of the land from Nii Dowuona V, Osu Mantse, to
Kwabla Noi Sekan in 1967 evidencing a customary grant made in 1939 (see exhibit
1); there was then a conveyance (exhibit A) of the same parcel of land in March
1972 from Kwabla Noi Sekan to Alfred Kateinor Ocansey who in turn conveyed the
land in June 1972 to Julius Aboagye, the plaintiff. This conveyance is exhibit
B registered as No. 1883/1975.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The
defendant’s case is that he acquired his land in 1976 from the Osu Mantse, Nii
Nortei Owuo III, who executed a document for him, but this document was not put
in evidence at the trial.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>It is
interesting to observe on the admission of the defendant himself that he never
registered or stamped the document, nor did he make any search at the Lands
Department to ascertain whether the land granted him in 1976 was encumbered or
not. In spite of all these he proceeded to construct a building on the plot.
The defendant in evidence said:<o:p></o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none;border:none;mso-padding-alt:
31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes">“I gave
the whole thing to a surveyor to do everything for me. He is called Tetteh. He
said he would go to Town Planning and if it is approved I can start building
before I stamp and register the document. I accompanied Tetteh to the Town
Planning Department one day for my house plan. They approved that I should
carry on with the building. I had a building permit from the city engineer.”<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The
matter to consider here also is whether approval from the Town Planning
Authority of the building permit from the city engineer confers any title on
the defendant. The answer is clearly in the negative, and it is a notorious
fact that these two authorities always intimate on their documents that their
approval or grant of a building permit does not confer any legal title of the
land on the holder of such a document. In these circumstances can it be said
that the defendant had any title to the land on which he proceeded to construct
his building? I think not.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>