Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has begun to investigate Chief Judge of Criminal Court Ahmed Hailam over sharing a social media post to commemorate Victory Day of Maldives. JSC has also suspended him until the completion of the investigation on the disciplinary case filed against him.
Previously, in a tweet, JSC announced the agitating post was shared in Criminal Court Recreation Club Viber group and investigation was under way concerning the alleged wrongdoing and misconduct by Hailam. JSC said there is a specific guideline for judges to follow and such a post must not be shared by any of the judges in the country.
Hailam is the presiding judge over a case of money laundering against former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom. The hearings on the case has been and the hearing scheduled for Tuesday afternoon to announce a verdict was cancelled following the suspension of the judge.
In a statement released by Criminal Court, Judge Hailam apologised for sharing the post without looking deeper into its contents.
JSC summoned judge Hailam to interrogate about the controversial post he shared and subsequently suspended him at a meeting held Tuesday morning following disciplinary proceedings against him over the matter. However, Hailam declined the summon in writing and refused to present himself at the commission stating his reason for declining, which was unacceptable to JSC.