Detained Chief Justice calls on judiciary and security forces to uphold rule of law

Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed calls on the Judiciary and security forces to uphold rule of law.

In a tweet posted on Sunday, Saeed’s lawyer Hisaan Hussain wrote that after being in police custody for 34 days, he was on Saturday charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act for the alleged felony of conspiring to overthrow the government.

The tweet also reads that Saeed resiliently denies the terror charges against him and calls on the judiciary and security forces to uphold the rule of law.

While the Chief Justice has been accused of conspiring a coup, he was previously questioned over the allegations of attempting to obstruct statutory duties. Justices Saeed and Hameed were arrested on the accusation of accepting bribes, obstruction of justice, influencing court trials and attempting to use their positions to overthrow the administration. Justice Saeed has denied these allegations as well.

The justices were arrested under the State of Emergency decree just hours after it was declared. The police had climbed over the roof into the Supreme Court and evidently pushed Justices Saeed and Hameed onto the ground before dragging them away.

From the time of Saeed’s arrest, the supreme court order till date are being passed with the absence of a Chief Justice. While this is against the rule of law, the Supreme Court currently runs under three Justices, whereas the constitution decrees that orders cannot be passed without the endorsement of all five justices.