THE REPUBLIC vs. SOLOMON AND COLLINS BORTEY EX – PARTE: ARTHUR MORRISON [2020]DLHC9991

Date	2020-07-22
Suit No.	SUIT NO.: CR/0399/2020
Citation No.	[2020]DLHC9991

HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE YAW DARKO ASARE

STEPHEN ADDOM ESQ.

FOR KOJO ASUMANING ESQ. FOR THE APLICANT

GAFRAH ALI ESQ. FOR THE RESPONDENTS

HOLDS RAPHAEL KOJO BONNEY’S ESQ. BRIEF

[2020]DLHC9991
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;color:#00B0F0">THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;color:#00B0F0">SOLOMON AND COLLINS BORTEY<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;color:#00B0F0"><o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">(RESPONDENTS)<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;color:#00B0F0">EX – PARTE: ARTHUR MORRISON<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">(APPLICANT)<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:
150%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">[HIGH
COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

</div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:107%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:
&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">STEPHEN ADDOM ESQ., FOR
KOJO ASUMANING ESQ., FOR THE APLICANT <o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;
font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">GAFRAH ALI ESQ., FOR THE
RESPONDENTS <o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
justify;line-height:150%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">HOLDS
RAPHAEL KOJO BONNEY’S ESQ., BRIEF <o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;
font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE YAW
DARKO ASARE<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top-width: 1.5pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-left: none; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0cm;">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;line-height:150%;border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">RULING<o:p></o:p>

</div>&nbsp;The Applicant by this instant
application filed on the 14th of May 2020 prays for an order against
the Respondents herein for committal for contempt of Court.<o:p></o:p>In an affidavit deposed to by the
Applicant in support of the said application, it is averred that subsequent to
the issue of a writ of summons dated the 16th of March 2020 for
among others a declaration of title, recovery of possession, general damages
and an injunctive relief against the Respondents herein, the Applicant followed
up with an application for an interlocutory injunction dated the 17th
of April 2020 which was duly served on the Respondents. <o:p></o:p>The pendency of the above processes
before the trial Court above notwithstanding, the Applicant alleges that he
subsequently visited the disputed land on numerous occasions to find the
Respondents carrying out constructional works on the land, which they have
since refused to abate, despite repeated and incessant warnings on them by the
Applicant, which conduct, according to the Applicant, amounts to Contempt of Court.<o:p></o:p>Not unexpectedly, the Respondents filed
individual affidavits in opposition to the application to commit for contempt
of court, in which they essentially denied the allegations of contempt levelled
against them by the Applicant.<o:p></o:p>On his part the 1st
Respondent basically disputes the claim that he has engaged in any acts
amounting to contempt of court and claims that the Applicant does not own the disputed
land which is different from the land he owns. According to him he has since
the year 2012, been in possession of his land situate at Teshie which is
different from the land being claimed by the Applicant as borne out by a
Composite Plan annexed to his affidavit as Exhibit “SOL2”. Per paragraph 5 of
his affidavit in opposition however, the 1st Respondent appeared to
admit the averments at paragraphs 1-7 of the Applicant’s supporting affidavit
where it is alleged that the 1st Respondent had continued carrying
out constructional works on the disputed land, the service of the writ of
summons on him notwithstanding.<o:p></o:p>By his affidavit in opposition, the 2nd
Respondent flatly denied the allegation of contempt against him and deposed to
the fact that he has nothing to do with the disputed land, neither had he
engaged in any work on the said land.<o:p></o:p>This therefore being a case essentially
revolving itself around an issue of contempt of court, it may perhaps be
necessary to start off by embarking on a brief foray into the basic legal
principles governing the appropriate ingredients required to successfully prove
cases of contempt, the kind of which has been alleged against the Respondents
herein<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;