One of the two nominations of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to the country’s High Court, Mohamed Shaheed has withdrawn to uphold judicial integrity following mounting criticism over his nomination.
Shaheed in a letter to JSC, asked the judicial watchdog to withdraw his nomination for the post of High Court judge as he wished to uphold the integrity of the first appellate court following question marks raised over his political affiliations to the ruling party, People’s National Congress (PNC).
Shaheed earned his Bachelor in Shariah and Law with Honours from the Islamic University of the Maldives. He has worked as a lawyer for Honeywell Trading Company Private Limited, and most recently served as a Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology.
In his letter, Shaheed said he had resigned from the deputy minister’s post to put his political career behind him and serve in the judiciary. Despite meeting the criteria to serve as a High Court judge, the decision to withdraw his nomination is to avoid further controversy and to uphold the integrity of the judiciary, he said.
Shaheed’s withdrawal came after the JSC had scheduled his swearing in for later Sunday.
The other nominee, Abdulla Jameel Moosa is expected to be sworn in during the ceremony and Shaheed has said he would not attend.
The two seats in the High Court bench became vacant following the appointment of former High Court judges Abdulla Hameed and Mohamed Saleem as Supreme Court judges. The High Court has 11 judges in total.