One of the High Court judges implicated in the judicial bribery scandal, Justice Paul Uuter Dery, has withdrawn a contempt suit he brought against fellow judge, Justice Gertrude Torkonoo.

Justice Dery was challenging a decision by the Court of Appeal judge to rule on a matter involving him without notice to him or is lawyers.

He wanted Justice Torkonoo committed to prison for conduct he said was "calculated to interfere with, prejudice and also to undermine the outcome of the two applications pending before this Honourable Court.” 

Mr. Dery’s issue with Justice Torkonoo stems from a ruling she gave in respect of an application for contempt he brought before her.

Justice Dery is fighting attempts to remove him from the bench for allegedly receiving bribes.

Journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his Tiger Eye PI collected what they alleged were video evidence in which some 34 judges were found to have taken bribes to pervert justice.

Anas petitioned President John Mahama and the Chief Justice to take steps to remove the accused judges.

Justice Dery is one of nine High Court judges mired in this controversy.

After the video was compiled, he issued a writ at the High Court on September 14, 2015, contending amongst others that the audio-visual recordings were done in violation of his right to privacy.

To that extent he argued that the video should not be screened, neither should any transcripts be published from them and that they could be relied on to remove him.

Tiger Eye in spite of this screened the video at the Accra International Conference Centre.

Following this, Justice Dery brought an application for contempt against Anas, Sulemana Braimah of the Media Foundation for West Africa, two editors of the New Crusading Guide newspaper amongst others.

The Court of Appeal Judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, dismissed the application for contempt on September 28 even though the case was originally scheduled to be heard on October 12, 2015.

Justice Dery’s lawyers raised concerns about the decision and proceeded to the Supreme Court to cite her for bias.

The lawyers also asked the highest court of the land to give an order restraining the judge from hearing the substantive case.

The embattled judge is arguing before the court that “despite the pendency of these two applications before this Court, [Justice Torkonoo] in outright disrespect of this Court caused a hearing notice to be served on me to appear before her on 3rd December, 2015, for the hearing of the same contempt application which [she] had already dealt with on the 28th and 29th September, 2015 and dismissed it.”

To that extent, he wanted the judge to be punished.

When the case called today, the Supreme Court panel asked Justice Dery's lawyer, Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo what the justification for the suit was was.

The judges pointed to Article 127(3) of the 1992 Constitution to back their query. The provision says, "(3) A Justice of a Superior Court, or any person exercising judicial power, shall not be liable to any action or suit for any act or omission by him in the exercise of the judicial power." 

After going back and forth with the court, the lawyer withdrew the contempt suit.

Justice Dery himself was in court.