Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has announced its decision to begin proceedings at the Parliament of the Maldives to remove Criminal Court Judge Ismail Rasheed.
JSC stated Judge Ismail Rasheed had violated the Criminal Procedure Act and had not acted in an independent manner when issuing his verdict in former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb's trial.
On July 14, 2020, Judge Rasheed dismissed all seven charges raised by the state against Adeeb over his involvement in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption scandal. The judge rejected the charges citing the lack of sufficient credible evidence against Adeeb, as the charges are largely dependent on confession agreements signed between the defendant and the Prosecutor General's Office, which holds no validity in court.
However, JSC stated that it recovered a pen drive which showed the judge's verdict was written months prior. JSC stated the pen drive contained a file dating back to February 22, 2020, which had the transcript of his verdict he issued in July of that year.
JSC stated the judge's behavior shows a lack of integrity, since he had planned to dismiss Adeeb's charges months prior to his verdict, and had kept work-related files in a pen drive instead of the court's computer system. JSC stated the judge had violated articles 32 and 33 of the Judge's Act and should be removed in accordance with Article 154 of the Constitution of the Maldives.
Former Vice President Adeeb was freed from imprisonment after Judge Ismail Rasheed dismissed all seven charges against him. However, the High Court ordered a re-trial after the state appealed the verdict.
JSC suspended Judge Ismail Rasheed after a disciplinary case was submitted against him.