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The Attorney General failed to file a response as ordered by the Accra High Court in a case brought against the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery and the Director of Immigration, Mr Kwame Takyi.

The court last week ordered the A-G to file a response to the application by an Indian National, Ashok Kumar Sivaram who was deported by the Minister. The applicant has filed an application praying the court to quash the deportation since it was unlawful.

According to the deportation order, the applicant "acquired and submitted a forged Marriage Certificate in Support of his application for Citizenship by Registration as a Ghanaian in 2015."

Therefore in the opinion of the Minister for the Interior, his continued presence in Ghana was not conducive to the public good and therefore deported him.

But in the suit filed on his behalf by his lawyer, Mr Gary Nimako Marfo, Mr Ashok Kumar Sivaram insists his deportation was illegal, unfair and an abuse of office by the officers in charge of the deportation and demands a return. At the sitting last week Friday, the court ordered the A-G to file a proper response after it filed a wrong process.

The A-G was ordered to file on Monday so the hearing will be held today [Tuesday]. However, Lawyer Jacqueline Armah failed to file her response. Presiding judge, Justice Kweku A. Boafo, who was not happy with development gave her till close of work today [Tuesday] to file so hearing will be for tomorrow [Wednesday].

The suit revealed that the “the Applicant was deported from Ghana on the said morning of 1st June 2017 without any notice to him or being offered the opportunity to be heard on the allegation of forgery leveled against him.”

“The Respondents carried out this operation without regard to the presence of the Applicant’s business interest in Ghana that employs one hundred and sixty (160) people out of which one hundred and thirty (130) are Ghanaians and thirty (30) are Expatriates. Again, no regard or consideration was given by the Respondents inspite of the pendency of the case in the High Court, Commercial Division and the Order for a valuation process to be undertaken by Ernst & Young to enable the Court proceed with the matter pending before it,” the suit explained.

The suit indicated that “the Applicant was arrested as if he was a common criminal on 1st June, 2017 and immediately deported from Ghana without regard to the Orders of the High Court made on 5th May, 2017 for the valuation of Jai Mai Communications Limited.”