An injunction application filed at the Accra High Court seeks to restrain the Agona West Constituency Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gibrine Tanko Toye, from calling or presiding over any official party meeting or programme.
The application, which has reportedly been filed and served on the defendants, also seeks to prevent seven other individuals from holding themselves out as members of the NPP pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Under the motion on notice, the applicants are seeking orders that would prevent Mr Tanko Gibrine from calling or presiding over any constituency meeting, including meetings involving polling station executives and constituency executives.
The application further seeks to restrain Fredrick, Kofi Sei, Ama, Tina and Opeley from attending party meetings or holding themselves out as NPP members.
Dina and Ekua Togo are also named in the application and are being restrained from holding themselves out as members of the NPP.
The applicants are relying on established principles on contempt of court, particularly the principle outlined in Republic v Moffat; Ex Parte Allotey, 2 GLR 391.
Under the principle, once a party has been served with an application seeking to preserve the status quo, that party is deemed to be aware of the pending proceedings.
The applicants argue that any conduct that interferes with the administration of justice or prejudices the fair determination of the case after service of the application could expose the affected parties to contempt proceedings.
They further cite In re Effiduase Stool Affairs (No. 2) [1998-99] SCGLR 639 and Republic v Dali; Ex Parte Gogah [1971] in support of the position.
The implication, according to the applicants, is that once the defendants have been served, proceeding to undertake the very acts the injunction seeks to restrain could create a contempt risk, even before the substantive application is heard and determined by the court.
The case is expected to come before the High Court for determination of the injunction application and the substantive issues between the parties.
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