The Supreme Court Wednesday struck out the name of the Speaker of Parliament from a suit instituted by a retired journalist who is challenging the creation of additional 42 districts in the country. Welford Quarcoo is praying the Supreme Court to declare the creation of the new districts as null and void on the grounds that Section 1 (2) of the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462) which mandated the President to declare an area a district and assign a name to that district by Executive Instrument (EI) was inconsistent with articles 241 (2) and 106 (1) of the 1992 Constitution. The plaintiff sued the Attorney-General, the Speaker of Parliament and the Electoral Commission (EC), but the nine-member panel unanimously struck out the name of the Speaker of Parliament. According to the court, presided over by Mr Justice William Atuguba, the name of the Speaker of Parliament was improperly joined in the suit because the Attorney-General was a nominal defendant for all the arms of the state. Other members of the panel were Ms Justice Sophia Akuffo, Professor Justice S. K. Date-Bah, Ms Justice Rose Owusu, Mr Justice Annin Yeboah, Mr Justice G. S. Gbadegbe and Mrs Justice Vida Akoto-Bamfo. The court also gave counsel for the applicant, Mr Bright Okyere-Agyekum, leave to file additional issues in a supplementary affidavit. The matter was adjourned to March 14, 2012 to enable the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Benjamin Kunbuor, who was present in court, to serve the state’s affidavit in opposition on the applicant. In addition to the substantive suit, the applicant has filed an interlocutory injunction praying the court to restrain the Minister of Local Government from laying a new Legislative Instrument (LI) on the new districts before Parliament. Despite the court action, which was instituted on January 27, 2012, the LI for the creation of additional districts and municipalities has been laid before Parliament by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. The LI, which will mature 21 days after its presentation, will also provide the platform for the EC to create more constituencies in the run-up to the December general election. The motion on notice for interlocutory injunction is seeking, among other reliefs, an order directed at the Attorney-General to direct the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development or any other minister from laying in Parliament any LI made pursuant to Section 3 of the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462) pending the hearing and final determination of the action. It is also seeking an order directed at the Speaker of Parliament from permitting to be laid before Parliament for the consideration of Parliament by the Minister of Local Government or any other minister any LI made pursuant to Section 3 of Act 462 or pursuant to any other section or provision in any other enactment pending the hearing and final determination of the action. The motion is praying the court to restrain the EC from acting in any way whatsoever pursuant to directions made by the President in furtherance of Section 1 (3) of Act 462. An affidavit in support of the motion for interlocutory injunction stated, among others, that despite the court action, the Ministry of Local Government had taken steps to lay the LI before Parliament and that unless stopped by the highest court of the land, the administration of justice would be undermined.