SINO AFRICA DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LIMITED vs ROYAL BELL INVESTMENTS LIMITED, KWAME BLAY [2023]DLSC16104

SINO AFRICA DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LIMITED vs ROYAL BELL INVESTMENTS LIMITED, KWAME... [2023]DLSC16104

Date	2023-06-14
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO. J4/02/2023
Citation No.	[2023]DLSC16104

PWAMANG JSC (PRESIDING)

OWUSU (MS.) JSC.

AMADU JSC.

PROF. MENSA-BONSU (MRS.) JSC.

ACKAH-YENSU (MS.) JSC

O. K. OSAFO BUABENG ESQ

KWAME FOSU-GYEABOUR ESQ.

[2023]DLSC16104
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >SINO
AFRICA DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LIMITED<o:p></o:p>

(PLAINTIFF/APPLICANT/APPELLANT/RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>

vs.<o:p></o:p>

ROYAL BELL INVESTMENTS LIMITED, KWAME
BLAY<o:p></o:p>

[SUPREME
COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>

&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;&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; <o:p></o:p>

CIVIL APPEAL
NO. J4/02/2023&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: 14TH JUNE,
2023<o:p></o:p>

</div>

COUNSEL&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; <o:p></o:p>

O.
K. OSAFO BUABENG ESQ FOR PLAINTIFF/APPLICNT/APPELLANT/RESPONDENT <o:p></o:p>

KWAME
FOSU-GYEABOUR ESQ. FOR DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS/APPELLANTS<o:p></o:p>

</div>

CORAM&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>

PWAMANG JSC (PRESIDING),
OWUSU (MS.) JSC., AMADU JSC., PROF. MENSA-BONSU (MRS.) JSC., ACKAH-YENSU (MS.)
JSC <o:p></o:p>

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;line-height:115%;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">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

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PWAMANG JSC:-<o:p></o:p>

My Lords, this is
an interlocutory appeal arising from a case the
plaintiff/applicant/appellant/respondent (the plaintiff) filed in the High
Court, Land Division, Accra on 9th August 2021 and claimed for declaration of
title to a tract of land at Borteman in the Tema Municipality, recovery of
possession, perpetual injunction and damages for trespass. The plaintiff’s case
is, that by a sublease dated 16th August 2010 it acquired the land in dispute
from the Nungua Stool represented by the Nungua Mantse and Gborbu Wulomo of
Nungua. Before the sublease to the plaintiff, the Stool itself was granted a
Head Lease dated 12th August 2010 covering a large tract of land including the
disputed land by the Government of Ghana for a term of 99 years. The history of
the land is that by Certificate of Title dated 7th March, 1940, the colonial
government compulsorily acquired the land from the Nungua Stool for
agricultural purposes but as at 2010 a large portion of the land was not being
used by the Government so the Nungua Stool&nbsp;
petitioned for the release of the land to it as the original owner. The
Government acceded to the petition by granting the Stool the lease for 99 years
of part of the acquired land. <o:p></o:p>

By its pleadings, the plaintiff states that
it was in peaceful occupation until shortly before filing this case in the High
Court when the defendants/respondents/respondents/appellants (defendants)
entered onto the land and started demolishing its structures. When the
plaintiff confronted the defendants they claimed to have obtained judgment in
their favour declaring them owners of the land and granting them an order of
recovery of possession. The plaintiff says it had no prior notice of any suit
concerning its land as no court process was served on it despite being in
possession. However, the plaintiff later got to know that the 1st defendant
brought an action in the High Court against its grantor who purported to sell
part of the plaintiff’s land to it. That suit was Suit No, LD/1228/2017 but the
plaintiff was not made a defendant yet the purported execution was made to
affect the land of the plaintiff, hence this action by the plaintiff. The
plaintiff first applied for a limited order of interim injunction against the
defendants and later brought an application on notice for an order of
interlocutory injunction.<o:p></o:p>