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An Accra High Court on Wednesday July 26, 2017 deferred its ruling in a case brought against Interior Minister, Ambrose Derry and the Comptroller General of Immigration, Kwame Sakyi by an Indian national who is contesting his deportation from Ghana.

The applicant, Ashok Kumar Sivaram who had lived in the country for since the year 2000, is accusing the two officials of unlawfully deporting him over unsubstantiated claims. The Interior Minister and the Comptroller General of Immigration are said to have approved the deportation of Mr Sivaram on grounds that he obtained a fake marriage certificate to enable his stay in the country.

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.” At hearing today [Wednesday], counsel for the applicant, lawyer Gary Nimako prayed the court to quash the order by the respondents because the action was capricious and arbitrary.

The respondents he argued carried out their action by claiming that the applicant’s marriage certificate through which he was deported, was fraudulent and criminal.

However, the lawyer said the determination of what is fraudulent or criminal can only be done by a competent court of jurisdiction. The Minister of Interior he stressed had no such powers to deport the applicant adding, the applicant was not given a fair hearing before his deportation.

He prayed the court to revoke the deportation order and because the action was in excess of their powers. They exceeded their powers in deporting the applicant. On the claim that the applicant was a threat to the security of state, lawyer Nimako shot it down and argued that he [Ashok] has been living in the country since 2000 and had no criminal record hence it will be strange for him to deported on such grounds.

“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.”

Counsel for the respondents, lawyer J. Armah, objected to the application on the grounds that the Minister did not err in deporting the applicant because he did so with recourse to law.

The applicant he stated was granted an opportunity and a fair hearing after it was established through an investigation that he forged his marriage certificate.

The Minister she said did not act in excess of his powers. The Minister took into consideration the security of Ghana and deported the application who in his [Minister’s] opinion was a threat to national security,she added.

Lawyer Armah had earlier prayed the court after she raised a preliminary objection to the application. She asked the court to dismiss the application on grounds that, he [Applicant] ought to have sued the Attorney-General who was mandated by law, to represent a state institution in civil cases.

The Minister she said was sued in his personal capacity. But Lawyer Nimako in his response said, the fact that the Minister’s name was captured on the application did not mean that he was sued in his personal capacity.

The objection was however overruled by the presiding judge, Justice Kweku A. Boafo.

He subsequently deferred the ruling to Monday July 29, 2017