JOSEPH OKLEY vs. DEVTRACO LTD & 1 OR. LAND COMMISSION [2015]DLCA5001

Date	2015-02-10
Suit No.	SUIT NO. H3/19/2015
Citation No.	[2015]DLCA5001

OWUSU M. (PRESIDING)

DORDZIE J.A.

GYAN J.A.

MR. DAVID KUDOADZI FOR 1ST APPLICANT

MR. ANKOMAH MENSAH FOR RESPONDENT

[2015]DLCA5001
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >JOSEPH OKLEY<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT/RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>DEVTRACO LTD &amp; 1 OR.<o:p></o:p>(1ST
DEFENDANT/APPELLANT/APPLICANT)<o:p></o:p>LAND COMMISSION<o:p></o:p>(2ND DEFENDANT)<o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<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">

SUIT NO. H3/19/2015&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;DATE: 10TH
FEBRUARY, 2015<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>MR. DAVID KUDOADZI FOR 1ST
APPLICANT<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">

MR.
ANKOMAH MENSAH FOR 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;
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OWUSU
M. (PRESIDING), DORDZIE J.A., GYAN J.A.<o:p></o:p>

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

</div>MARIAMA
OWUSU, J.A:<o:p></o:p>At the court’s sitting on 4-2-2015, the 1st
Defendant/Appellant/Applicant moved this court to punish the
Plaintiff/Respondent/Respondent for willfully disobeying the orders of this
court and thereby putting the administration of justice into disrepute.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The basis of the applicant’s application is that
sometime 20-5-2014, this court differently constituted stayed execution of the
judgment of the High Court in respect of this matter pending the final hearing
and determination of the appeal filed.&nbsp;
The Plaintiff/Respondent/Respondent in spite of this court’s order
stated above, has proceeded to sell the vacant plots in front of their
properties to third parties who have begun to develop the land in spite of
warnings and protestations from the 1st
Defendant/Appellant/Applicant.&nbsp;&nbsp; It is
the case of the applicant that it reported the matter to the police who advised
the respondent and his purchasers to desist from any further development on the
land which advice the respondent and his purchasers have ignored hence this
action.&nbsp; The applicant attached Exhibit
‘C’ series, which exhibits are photographs of the state of the land at the time
stay of execution was granted and at the moment just to show the haste with
which the respondent and his purchasers are developing the land in
dispute.&nbsp; See paragraphs 6 – 11 of the
Affidavit in support.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The Plaintiff/Respondent/Respondent opposed the
application and filed affidavit in opposition to that effect.&nbsp; He invited us to dismiss the application as
being incompetent.&nbsp; His reason being
that, by the combined effect of Rule 21
and 28 of the Court of Appeal Rules,
1997 (as amended) C.I. 19, this application ought to have been filed before
the trial Court.&nbsp; This is because the
record of appeal has not yet been transmitted to this court.&nbsp; Consequently, this application is incompetent
and same ought be dismissed.&nbsp; On the
applicant’s complaint that the respondent and his purchasers are developing the
disputed land, counsel for the respondent referred to exhibit ‘A’ attached to
the affidavit in opposition and submitted that, the respondent has not gone
onto the disputed land after this court granted the applicant’s application for
Stay of Execution on the 20-5-2014.&nbsp; The
respondent concluded that he has not violated any order of this court as no
activity is going on on the land.&nbsp;
Counsel for the respondent therefore invited us to dismiss this
application.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>Order 21 of the Court of Appeal Rules, C.I. 19 provides
as follows:<o:p></o:p>“After
the record of appeal has been transmitted from the Court below to the court,
the court shall be seized of the whole proceedings as between the parties and
every application shall be made to the court and not to the court below, but an
application may be filed in the court below for transmission to the court.”<o:p></main>