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JSC decided to dismiss judges in accordance with procedure

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has stated that it had completed the necessary procedures in its decision to dismiss High Court judges Abdul Rauf Ibrahim and Abdulla Hameed. The statement was made in response to the Parliamentary Committee on Judicial Services, which stated JSC had made the decision without completing the necessary procedures.

In a press statement, JSC noted the decision to dismiss the judges was made after investigating a complaint accusing the two judges of violating Article 152 of the Constitution of the Maldives by accepting government-issued flats at special prices after, agreeing to issue a particular verdict in a court case. The commission stated that the government had given the flats directly to the judges without any involvement from the Parliament of the Maldives and that it violates Article 152, which states that Judges shall be paid such salary and allowances in keeping with the stature of their office as determined by the Parliament. It added that JSC did not make the decision to dismiss the judges based on irrelevant information or investigations.

The parliamentary committee also stated that JSC did not provide the judges the opportunity to respond to its final report. In response, JSC stated that the regulations dictate that only the commission can take action on the final report and that it is only allowed to provide judges with the opportunity to respond to the prior investigative report. As such, it stated that the judges has responded to the investigative report during a meeting held before a decision was made on the case.

Additionally, JSC refuted the parliamentary committee’s claim that the commission establish two separate investigative committees to investigate the judges. However, JSC stated a member was replaced in the investigative committee during the investigation but that no other changes were made.