Supreme Court quashes High Court order on #Fix the Country protest
The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday quashed the order of the High Court barring the planned #Fix the Country” street protest.
A five-member panel of judges of the SC, presided over by Justice Yaw Apau, said the order of the Accra High Court was done in error.
Other members of the panel were Justices Mariama Owusu, Lovelace Johnson, Clemence Honyenuga and Professor Henrietta Mensah Bonsu.
Consequently, the apex court set aside the the High Court order as same was quashed.
Meanwhile, another motion seeking to injunct the street protest, pending before the High Court, is expected to be heard on June 14.
On May 6, the Ghana Police Service secured an ex-parte injunction from the High Court to stop the protest, which had gathered momentum on social media.
In the restraining order issued against organisers of the protest, the High Court held that it was not appropriate to hold the protest until such a time that COVID-19 restriction on public gathering was lifted.
Displeased by the decision of the High Court, the organisers went to the SC which ruled in their favour.
The campaigners contend that the decision of the High Court was unlawful as, under the High Court’s rules, injunctions granted without arguments by the affected persons (ex parte) ought to last for just 10 days.
Appearing before the SC, lead counsel for the campaigners, Justice Srem Sai, argued that the High Court erred in law by entertaining the ex-parte motion.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Godred Yeboah Dame, described the case filed by the campaigners as misconceived and completely unwarranted.
He told the court that under the High Court rules, ex-parte orders were to last for 10 days.
Mr Dame argued that by the operation of law, the order granted on May 6, stopping the May 9, protest had since elapsed, and urged the court to dismiss the case since no order was currently in force to bar the protest.
He said that even before the expiration of the order, a fresh application for an injunction had been filed by the Inspector General of Police, taking into account the fact that the May 6 order was to last 10 days.
Source: www.spotonnews.net
