Kudoo: JSC must answer for dismissal of top court justices based on allegations

MDP’s North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudoo) states the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) must take full responsibility and be held accountable for the dismissal and alleged character assassination of former Supreme Court judges based solely on allegations that were not substantiated.

In a post on X on Friday, Kudoo stated that the three justices of the country’s highest court were removed from office despite the allegations against them failing to be adequately proven. He stressed that the JSC should be held accountable for actions that resulted in significant damage to the judges’ reputations and ultimately led to their dismissal under such circumstances.

On February 26, 2025, then-Supreme Court judges Dr. Azmiralda Zahir, Mahaz Ali Zahir and Husnu al Suood were suspended by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), citing an ongoing investigation by the against them by the ACC. All three were hearing a case challenging the controversial move by the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) to write anti-defection clauses into the Maldivian constitution. It also came shortly after the ruling PNC used its supermajority in the Parliament to push through amendments to the Judicature Act to downsize the Supreme Court bench from seven to five justices - a bill that was later tabled following public backlash.

Suood resigned from the top court in protest of JSC’s decision, and the commission later opened misconduct cases against Azmiralda and Mahaz, accusing them of conspiring to influence the Criminal Court. Azmiralda and Mahaz - both of whom have maintained that the allegations against them were baseless and that the investigations by the JSC were tainted by the denial of due process to them - were dismissed by the Parliament with majority votes of 68-11 on May 14, 2025.

More than a year later, both Maldives Police Service and the Prosecutor General’s Office have dropped the cases against Azmiralda and Mahaz, citing lack of evidence.

Lawyers for Azmiralda have stated that the case being dropped proves it was baseless from the outset.

Meanwhile, Mahaz has stated that the cases being dropped prove the allegations were fabricated by certain parties with malicious intent to strip them of their positions unfairly.