Acquah, J.: I find it amazing the growing view that by virtue of section 6(a) of the Courts (Amendment) Law, 1987 (P.N.D.C.L. 191) amending section 39 (a) of the Courts Act, 1971 (Act 372), district magistrate courts no longer have jurisdiction to try stealing cases. And as a follow up of this view the applicant herein is seeking an order of certiorari to quash the judgment of the District Court Grade II, Kpando which convicted and sentenced him for stealing firewood. The second ground relied on for seeking to quash the judgment is that since in the course of the trial it became evident that title to the land on which the firewood was alleged to have been stolen was raised by the applicant, the trial magistrate ought to have discharged the applicant in accordance with section 180 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1960 (Act 30), and therefore the failure to discharge him has violated the court's jurisdiction and rendered the proceedings and judgment a nullity.
But first the background of …