Judges Aarif and Haleem discredited, must be penalized immediately: ex-AG Dhiyana
The two judges attested to having followed instructions of Justice Ali Hameed when deciding on cases
Civil Court Judge Mohamed Haleem (R) and acting chief judge of the Criminal Court Adam Aarif
Former Attorney General Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed had called on the state to take action against two local judges who attested to having followed the dictation of senior adjudicators in concluding cases they presided over.
Dhiyana, also a prominent pro-democracy activist, said in an interview to RaajjeMV that both judges have been discredited and decidedly do not have the integrity expected of their office.
The former attorney general, who had also been the first woman to ever be appointed as Secretary-General of SAARC, further said both judges should no longer preside over cases.
Dhiyana also said that authorities, including the Judicial Services Commission – which is statutorily tasked with regulating adjudicators at local courts, should take immediate action against them.
Leaked copies of witness statements provided to the police, which surfaced onto social media earlier this week, reveal that Criminal Court Chief Judge Adam Aarif and Civil Court Judge Mohamed Haleem Ali had keenly followed the instructions of Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed when deciding on cases they presided over.
Aarif is a witness in the state’s terrorism case against former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and the bribery charges against both Justice Hameed and Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed. Statements provided by a number of other witnesses in the case have also been leaked.
While the police have not explicitly said that the leaked documents are authentic, Superintendent of Police Ahmed Shifaan referred to them as ‘the police’s documents’ at a press conference on Wednesday to announce their investigation into the matter.
