Suspended High Court judge, Justice Paul Dery, has accused the Court of Appeal judge who dismissed his contempt case against Anas and four others, of bias.
According to him, Justice Gertrude Torkonoo displayed bias or a real likelihood of bias “when she dismissed [his] Motion on Notice for Committal for Contempt”.
The accused judge is resisting attempts to remove him from the bench for his role in the judicial scandal.
Justice Derry is among thirty-four judges and over 100 judicial service staff who were captured by Anas and his team allegedly taking bribe to influence justice in a two-year investigative piece.
He has since filed several suits both at the High Court and Supreme Court seeking various reliefs.
In one of such cases filed at the High Court, Justice Dery cited Anas, Media Foundation for West Africa boss, Sulemana Braimah, Kwabena Anokye Adisi and managers of the Accra International Conference Centre for contempt.
He argued that although the persons cited were aware of his application seeking to stop the screening of Anas’ audio-visual recordings, they engaged in acts that were prejudicial to his case.
But Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Torkonoo, sitting as an additional High Court judge, dismissed the case, holding that Justice Dery himself had withdrawn an application to stop the principal actor, Anas from screening the video.
After the ruling, the embattled judge and his lawyers expressed surprise and served they would appeal.
He is now accusing Justice Torkonoo of not only bias but also of acting in breach of “the audi alteram partem principle of natural justice through her failure to give [Justice Dery] prior notice” before hearing the matter and dismissing it.
He wants an order from the Supreme Court to restrain Justice Torkonoo from hearing the substantive case pending before her.
He does not want her to preside over his substantive case in which he is arguing that the audio-visual recordings were done in violation of his right to privacy.
The Court of Appeal judge was selected by Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood to hear all the lawsuits relating to the judicial bribery scandal.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi, Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana