MP Faris’ appeal trial halted indefinitely until SC verdict

The appeal hearings of Dhiggaru Constituency m ember of parliament Ahmed Faris Maumoon has been halted indefinitely, until Supreme Court is to announce a verdict on its changes to the High Court bench.

MP Faris was detained on attempted bribery charges on July 18th and the following day he was remanded for the duration of the investigation and trial. Following this, MP Faris was detained in Maafushi jail.

The appeal case was first reviewed by Judges Abdullah Didi, Ali Sameer and Abdul Rauf Ibrahim. However, Judge Sameer was replaced mid-trial by Judge Shujau Usman, who was soon afterwards appointed to head the bench.

A hearing of the case made over the change in bench was held on Thursday. The case was filed to Supreme Court as it fell under the legal administration of the Court. The bench had passed to halt the appeal hearings until the Court can reach a decision on the issue.

Speaking after the trial defense lawyer Maumoon Hameed argued that the change to the bench contradicted a precedent set by Supreme Court, which states that a bench of the Court cannot be changed unless there was a valid reason to do so.

The lawyers said no Judges reviewing MP Faris’ case had recused himself from the case and therefore, there was no reason for one Judge to remove the files from the presiding Judge. They also said that this was an ethics violation of the Judge and therefore the case had been filed with Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

Hameed said they had requested the Court to half the hearings in High Court as the High Court had changed their bench in direct violation of the Supreme Court precedent.

He added that the defense hoped the Supreme Court will come to a quick decision on the issue. However, he noted that the entire judiciary had functioned on selective justice.

The last appeal hearing for the Parliamentarian was held on August 9th, with the Court announcing that a verdict will be announced in the next hearing.