Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has alleged that the appointment of High Court Judge Mohamed Saleem to the Supreme Court was the result of a political deal.

Yameen made these remarks while speaking at a meeting held by his party, the People's National Front (PNF).

Yameen claimed that while his case was ongoing at the High Court, Judge Mohamed Saleem was on leave for a month and a half. He further alleged that Judge Saleem is now being lined up for a position on the Supreme Court bench.

Further, Yameen claimed that as part of this process, Judge Saleem's brother has been elected to the People's Majlis. Ahmed Aslam, the MP for Bilehdhoo constituency, is Judge Saleem's brother. Yameen said that these things are not mere coincidences.

Saleem was one of the nominations President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu forwarded to the People's Majlis for the position of Supreme Court Justice. Yameen said that Muizzu wants to appoint Saleem as the Chief Justice.

However, Yameen said that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) found that Saleem did not even meet the qualifications for Supreme Court Justice. After a lengthy debate at JSC regarding Saleem's qualifications, JSC finally decided that if one has held a lawyer's license for seven years, they would meet the qualifications.

In addition to this, Yameen said that Judge Saleem is the most incompetent person among the judges. He also stated that Judge Saleem's only qualification was delaying the trial long enough to jeopardize Yameen's candidacy and then leaving for one and a half months.

The former president went on to criticize the appointment of Saleem to the Supreme Court after the dismissal of Dr. Azmiralda Zahir and Mahaz Ali Zahir from their positions as Supreme Court Justices. Yameen said that Saleem is being brought to the Supreme Court after removing two strong justices.

Judge Saleem, who has applied for the position of Supreme Court Justice and whose name has been sent to the Majlis by President Muizzu, was appointed to the position of High Court Judge in 2022.