The Supreme Court has dismissed a preliminary objection filed by the Attorney General, which sought to exclude Justice Scott Pwamang, Justice Adibu-Asiedu, and other members of the committee investigating petitions for the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo, from a lawsuit filed by the suspended Chief Justice.
Chief Justice Torkonoo, who is currently under suspension, is challenging the ongoing proceedings of the removal committee through an injunction application before the apex court.
The application, filed alongside her husband, aims to halt the committee’s work while the court rules on her request for constitutional interpretation.
In her substantive suit, Justice Torkonoo is seeking three key reliefs: to waive her right to an in-camera (private) hearing, to have the committee’s prima facie determination declared unconstitutional, and to restrain the committee members from proceeding with the inquiry.
Deputy Attorney General Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, raising a preliminary objection, argued that the committee members were not explicitly named in the writ as individuals intended to be affected by the suit and should therefore not be included as defendants.
However, Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame opposed the objection, stating that what matters in legal proceedings is not simply naming parties, but whether the reliefs sought are directed at them.
He maintained that the suit clearly targeted the committee members and their role in the proceedings.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, presided over by Acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, ruled in favor of Dame’s argument and dismissed the objection.
The ruling means that the committee members will remain parties to the case as the court continues to consider the Chief Justice’s claims.
The ruling marks another significant step in the unfolding legal battle over the potential removal of Ghana’s Chief Justice, a process that has attracted nationwide attention.
