James Gyakye Quayson
The Supreme Court has set March 29, 2022, to hear an application for interlocutory injunction seeking to bar the Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, from further taking part in parliamentary proceedings.
The application was scheduled to be heard yesterday but the court had to adjourn the matter due to two applications filed by Tsastu Tsikata, counsel for the MP.
The first application is seeking a review of the court’s March 8 decision to dismiss the lawyer’s preliminary objection about compliance with the court’s order regarding substituted service of the processes, whilst the second application is seeking to stay the proceedings of the apex court.
The applications were filed at 11:30am when the motion for interlocutory injunction had been scheduled to be heard at 9:30am, which is the time the Supreme Court begins sitting.
Mr. Tsikata, in trying to explain the last-minute filing of the applications, stated that it was due to the fact that they did not receive the true certified copy of the court’s ruling which they sought to challenge.
He told the court that they intended to seek leave of the court to file a supplementary affidavit to what they had already filed.
Frank Davies, counsel for the plaintiff, who was clearly not impressed with the development, indicated that the MP was ordered to file his response but he instead filed applications for review and stay, which were served on them in the courtroom, hence he could not comment on them.
He, however, told the court that notwithstanding the filing of the two applications, the court should proceed to hear the interlocutory application.
The Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, who is also a respondent in the matter, observed that the motions filed are not anchored on any issues of fact and therefore, there was nothing that prevents the hearing of the motion for interlocutory injunction.
The seven-member panel of the court presided over by Justice Jones Dotse and assisted by Justices Agnes Dordzie, Nene Amegatcher, Mariama Owusu, Gertrude Torkornoo, Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu and Yonni Kulendi, indicated that they have adverted to the processes that have been filed on behalf of the MP. “Even though we have some reservation in view of the nature of the processes filed, we want to give them the opportunity to move the applications on March 29,” the court stated.
The court added that it will first hear the application for review, and depending on the outcome of the review, the original panel will deal with the one seeking stay of proceedings, and then again depending on the outcome, the court will deal with the motion for interlocutory injunction.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak