Submit List of All Those Arrested Without Warrant: High Court Orders Police

The Human Rights Division of the High Court, Accra presided over by her Ladyship Gifty Agyei Addo J. in The Republic v Inspector General of Police & the Attorney-General ex parte Centre for Constitutional Order[1] has granted an application for an order of mandamus compelling the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to perform the statutory duty imposed on him to ensure that officers in charge of police stations in Ghana, report monthly to the nearest District Magistrate the cases of all persons arrested without warrant within the limits of their respective stations and not subsequently charged with an offence, whether those persons have been admitted to bail or not.

The Applicants instituted the action for an order of mandamus pursuant to Article 33(b) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 55 and Order 55 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47).

The Applicant’s case was that section 16 of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30) requires that “Officers in charge of police station, shall report monthly to the nearest District Magistrate the cases of all persons arrested without warrant within the limits of their respective stations and not subsequently charged with an offence, whether those persons have been admitted to bail or not.”

A research work carried out by the Applicant on or before August, 2016, with the object of finding out whether the Ghana Police Service had been complying with the statutory duty imposed on it by section 16 of Act 30 revealed the Ghana Police Service’s non-compliance with this requirement 57 years after the passing of Act 30 in 1960. The Applicant shared the findings with the Inspector General of Police and the Chief Justice. The Applicants and the office of the Chief Justice wrote to the Inspector General of Police requiring the police to comply with section 16 of Act 30 but the police failed to do so.

The court found that section 16 imposed a statutory duty on the Inspector General of Police and his officials to ensure that the district magistrate was updated with the list of persons who had been arrested without warrant. The court further found that the applicant had satisfied the grounds for the grant of order of mandamus compelling the IGP to perform the statutory duty imposed by section 16 of Act 30.

The court thus made an order compelling the IGP to comply with section 16 of Act 30. The Court further made an order for the IGP to appear before the court on 29 October 2018 whether by himself or his accredited representative to show proof of compliance of the order of the court.

[1] Suit Number: HR/0093/15

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