The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has decided to investigate the matter of Supreme Court Judge Dr. Azmiralda Zahir issuing press releases.

RaajjeMV understands that the decision to investigate the issuance of press releases by Judge Azmiralda Zahir as an ethical issue was made during a meeting held by the commission on Tuesday. The decision to investigate the matter led to differing opinions among members, with some members speaking against it.

However, with the majority vote of JSC members, it was decided to investigate the matter, citing a violation of the code of conduct for judges as stipulated in the Judges Act.

At a time JSC has decided to investigate the matter, the law states that a relevant court employee can respond to issues arising in the media.

JSC has begun intensively investigating ethical issues of Supreme Court judges while the hearing of a case to nullify the constitutional amendment stripping parliamentarians off their seats for floor crossing, has commenced. Judge Azmiralda was suspended on 26 February 2025, and she has been issuing statements through her lawyer, Ibrahim Shameel, regarding the cases being investigated by JSC.

In this regard, when Dr. Ismail Latheef, Judge Azmiralda's spouse, was arrested, a statement was issued through her lawyer denying the allegations and refuting the claims in a case being investigated for allegedly influencing Criminal Court judges to release him from detention.

In addition to this, JSC has conducted an investigation and compiled a report on the case alleging that Judge Azmiralda influenced lower court judges. In a statement issued by lawyer Shameel, it was stated that the three Criminal Court judges who gave statements for the investigation also said that Judge Azmiralda had not done anything to exert influence.