Criminal Court case scheduling nearly doubles after new building opens: PGO

The number of cases scheduled at the Criminal Court has nearly doubled since the court’s new building was opened, the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has said.

According to statistics released by the PGO, prosecutors issued 729 recommendations to investigative agencies in August, a 17 percent increase compared to the 622 recommendations issued in July.

Prosecutors also attended 1,205 hearings last August, up from 1,080 hearings attended in July.

Public Prosecutor and PGO spokesperson Ahmed Shafeeu wrote on X that the number of cases scheduled at the Criminal Court has “almost doubled” since the new building was put into use.

There are still 1,626 pending cases at the Criminal Court in the second half of this year, Judicial Service Commission (JSC) President Husnee Mubarik said in mid-August. Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of three newly appointed Criminal Court judges and two Civil Court judges, Husnee said the JSC decided to increase the number of judges due to the heavy backlog.

The delay and prolongation of cases in the courts remains a matter of public concern, with some cases pending for more than three years.