Saleem and Hameed appointed Supreme Court justices

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has appointed former High Court Justices Mohamed Saleem and Abdulla Hameed as Supreme Court Justices.

During a special ceremony held at the President's Office on Wednesday afternoon, the two were sworn in as Supreme Court Justices by Supreme Court Justice Aisha Shujoon Mohamed.

The president presented them with their letters of appointment as part of the ceremony.

Muizzu submitted the names of Saleem and Hameed to the People’s Majlis for approval, to appoint as judges at the Supreme Court on June 2. The Judiciary Committee approved both nominees on June 4.

Following this, their appointments to the Supreme Court were put to a vote on the parliament floor at Wednesday’s parliamentary sitting.

Both judges received unanimous approval from the participating lawmakers in the vote. Justice Hameed received 60 votes, while Justice Saleem received 61 votes.

Two positions on the Supreme Court became vacant after Justices Dr. Azmiralda Zahir and Mahaz Ali Zahir were dismissed due to an ethical issue. The Supreme Court bench consists of seven members.

When the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) opened applications for the vacant positions, 12 individuals applied for the position of Supreme Court Justice.

From among the applicants, the president submitted the names of High Court Justice Mohamed Saleem and former High Court Justice Abdulla Hameed to the parliament based on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).