Justice Dery takes fight to Court of Appeal
MR Justice Paul Dery, one of the 12 high court judges implicated in the corruption scandal, yesterday went to the Court of Appeal to appeal against the dismissal of his contempt case by the Accra High Court.
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He wants the court to reverse the decision of the High Court.
Dismissal
The High Court, presided over by Mrs Theodora Torkornoo, said Mr Justice Dery himself withdrew the substantive contempt case against the premiering of the exposé about some of the judges and court officials.
Mr Justice Dery filed an interlocutory injunction against Tiger Eye PI, the Chief Justice, the Attorney General and media personalities over the premiering of the corruption video.
In dismissing the contempt case against media personalities who the applicant wanted the court to imprison for their role in the airing of the video, Mrs Torkornoo described the contempt case as “frivolous”.
Exoneration
The ruling exonerated the Chief Executive Officer of Starr FM, Mr Nathaniel Kwabena Anokye Adisi, and the Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Mr Sulemana Braimah.
Others joined in the suit were the Editor of the New Crusading Guide, Mr Samuel Frimpong, and the Deputy Editor of the New Crusading Guide, Mr Ernest Addo.
Moments after the dismissal of his case, Mr Justice Dery petitioned the Chief Justice to conduct investigations into the matter to ascertain its veracity for the necessary remedial action to be taken.
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“This dismissal news came as absolute shock to me, since on the motion paper, the said case is scheduled to be heard on October 12, 2015,” he stated.
Ground of appeal
In a petition filed on his behalf by his counsel, Mr Justice Dery said he was dissatisfied with the decision of the High Court.
He said the judge erred when she heard the contempt case on September 29, 2015 when the Registrar of the Fast Track Division of the High Court, Accra, had scheduled the matter to be heard on October 12, 2015.
The implicated judge said Mrs Torkornoo erred when she heard the case without notifying him, a decision which he said “breached my right to be heard”.
“The judge erred when she heard the case and dismissed same when the first, second, third and fourth respondents have not been served with the said application,” he stated.
According to him, the judge also erred when she dismissed his contempt application on the grounds that he had withdrawn his interlocutory injunction application on September 22, 2015.
“The judge erred when she held that my contempt application had no merit,” he said, adding that “further grounds of appeal will be filed upon receipt of the court proceedings”.