Quashing of a charge or information in the High Court: What an applicant must establish

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Criminal trials in the High courts are mostly on notice, in the sense that the accused person is earlier communicated as to the nature of the charge as well as the quality of evidence he is going to encounter during his trial. The accused person and his counsel, if any, are therefore afforded adequate opportunity to prepare a good defence against the charge.

Most importantly, the accused person at that stage, may, after going through the proof of evidence attached to the information or charge, as the case may be, consider whether he may stand his trial or seek to have the information or charge quashed, before the trial commences.

Trials generally constitute an abridgement of the personal liberty of the accused person. It is therefore essential that an accused person should not be made to go through the rigours of trial, where the proof of evidence attached to the information or charge do not disclose a prima facie case against the accused person.