Parliament Refers Bill Allowing Judges to Withhold Evidence to Committee

The Parliament has accepted the bill to amend the Criminal Procedure Act and forwarded it to the Judiciary Committee for further review.

The bill was accepted during Tuesday's parliamentary sitting with 45 members voting in favor.

This bill was introduced on behalf of the government by the Member for Funadhoo constituency, Mohamed Mamdhooh. The legislation proposes several amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act concerning the disclosure of evidence.

Article 131 of this amendment stipulates that the court shall have the discretion to order the non-disclosure of evidence, the deferral of its disclosure, or its disclosure subject to specific conditions, provided the presiding judge deems such measures necessary.

The proposed amendment outlines specific criteria for such a determination, including instances where the disclosure of evidence could lead to physical harm or injury to an individual, or where there is a high probability of such threats being carried out after they have been issued.

Furthermore, the bill cites several grounds for withholding evidence, including the potential disclosure of operational details related to criminal investigations, the risk of evidence tampering or obstruction, and the possibility that disclosure could facilitate further crimes. Other justifications include actions that may constitute contempt of court or the potential exposure of private information belonging to third parties other than the defendant. However, the bill does not provide extensive details or specific criteria regarding these provisions.

Furthermore, the bill stipulates that documents prepared by the agency for investigative purposes are not considered public information that the state is required to disclose or provide access to.