A five-member Supreme Court panel presided over by Justice Julius Ansah, yesterday, in a unanimous decision dismissed an application by embattled High Court Justices Paul Dery, who was challenging the capacity of Tiger Eye PI to petition the President, John Dramani Mahama, for their removal over the judicial corruption scandal.
Amongst other things, the judgment, which was read by Justice Akamba chided the plaintiff for making “unwarranted academic conjectures” by calling Tiger Eye a non-existent company.
The judgment also considered their suit as a “ruse meant to sway us from the substantive issue.”
Calling the plaintiff’s action as “uninformed and unwarranted”, the final judgment said “the plaintiff’s action fails and is dismissed.”
Counsel for Anas, Kissi Agyabeng of Cromwell Gray LLP told The New Crusading Guide newspaper in an interview after the judgment that he was happy about the unanimous decision that brought them the victory and added that he and his firm are always prepared to defend their client, with ease any day and in any forum.
“We are prepared for any legal battle on this judicial scandal. We have carefully gone through the video evidence and we know as a matter of fact that our client (Anas) has always been on the right course”, he asserted.
“The suit represents a classic case of a solution in search of a problem whereby the plaintiffs purported to create non-existent problems in respect of the identity of the person who petitioned the President for their removal as justices of the superior courts as a ruse to prolong the disciplinary proceedings against them,” Kissi Agyabeng added
Lawyer Nii Kpakpo Somuah, counsel for Justice Dery, after the ruling, looked visibly disappointed and shocked that at some point he reportedly murmured, Oh my God, when Justice Ackamba ruled that “…Plaintiff’s action fails and is dismissed”.
More so, signals picked from the judiciary are that Paul Dery would in the coming week come face-to-face with Anas at the Chief Justice’s Committee set up to investigate the judiciary scandal.
Justice Dery had sued praying the court for a declaration that Tiger Eye PI has no capacity to file a petition for his removal from office on the grounds that the company is not a registered entity and, therefore, has no legal personality. The applicants were asking the court to declare that Tiger Eye PI is not licensed to carry out investigations under the laws of Ghana.
They were also seeking a declaration that the audio-visual recordings and the transcripts thereof were fraudulently and unlawfully obtained by Tiger Eye PI.
Already, Justice Dery has sued the Ghana Journalists Association for awarding Anas the Journalist of the year.
Signals that the Crusading Guide has picked up indicated that M.anifest, one of Ghana’s top Hiplife musicians is also likely to be dragged to the dock by Justice Dery over a track on his latest album “Nowhere Cool” that makes reference to the defeat he has suffered in the hands of Anas. We could not get lawyer Nii Kpakpo Addo to comment on this.
Before all this, Justice Dery sued Anas, and the Accra International Conference Center for showing the Anas video.
The legal team further whisked in local television station UTV in the contempt case for telecasting parts of the video. Lawyer Nii Kpakpo Addo explained then that, the action by the management of the AICC was a clear disrespect to the high court considering the then injunction application pending.
He again filed a writ seeking to restrain Kumasi-based Ultimate 106.9FM, Tiger Eye PI and the Golden Tulip Hotel from going ahead to show the video in Kumasi.
Justice Paul Dery also asked the Accra Fast Track High Court to imprison the Managing Director of Global Cinemas, Ernest Boateng for contempt for showing the Anas video.
Dery has in the past sued Anas, the Chief Executive Officer of Starr fm Nathaniel Kwabena Anokye Adisi [Bola Ray] and the Media Foundation for West Africa for contempt.
The judge wanted the people and their institutions to be convicted and punished for contempt of Court.
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