JSC yet to inform me of an investigation: Judge Hailam

Criminal Court Chief Judge, Ahmed Hailam has said that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is yet to inform him of an investigation against him.

He said this at Sunday’s hearing in former President Abdulla Yameen’s money laundering trial, after an objection by the defence team.

Highlighting that the commission is investigating a complaint against him, one of Yameen’s lawyers emphasized that this was mentioned in a press released issued by JSC. He further noted that the commission has the authority to impeach the judge, and added that this “could create a conflict of interest.”

Hailam responded that JSC “has not informed me of an investigation,” adding that he does not believe that there is any issue “even if JSC is investigating me.” He also denied any such influence.

JSC had, on July 31, released a statement announcing its decision to investigate a complaint against the Criminal Court chief judge. While the complaint was forwarded to the commission’s disciplinary committee, it did not reveal any details.

Its director, Hassan Zaheen told RaajjeMV that a letter informing Hailam of an investigation into a complaint against him "will be delivered today [Monday]."

The commission also recently compiled a report on the pending cases at the Criminal Court, which noted the chief judge’s failure to monitor the progress of cases. It also highlighted that cases were not distributed to the judges in fair manner and without a procedure.

The JSC report revealed that there are currently 1,910 pending cases at the court, some of which are over ten years old.