Parliamentary committee decides to accept a single comment for the Penal Code Bill

Parliamentary committee reviewing the Penal Code Bill has decided to accept one comment from the number of comments submitted to the bill by Adhaalath Party and the Fiqh Academy.

The opportunity to submit comments to the bill was opened for a second time on the 13 of this month and closed yesterday. A number of comments were submitted by the Fiqh Acedamy and the Adhaalath Party during this period. The Fiqh Acedamy is a body instituted by the President and comprises of 22 religious scholars.

The two parties had submitted more than 10 comments each. The only comment the committee decided to accept was to change the a title of a single article that had a double connotation.

Comments by Adhaalath Party and the Fiqh Acedamy noted that some of the articles were against the principles of Islam. The parliamentary committee had however decided by unanimous vote, to reject the comments.

The committee members reasoned that Adhaalath Party and the Fiqh Acedamy had submitted the comments without properly reviewing the bill.

The opportunity to submit comments to the Penal Code Bill has been extended for the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM).

The parliamentary committee that reviews the Penal Code Bill consists of Bileidhoo MP Ahmed Hamza, Maafannu-north MP Imthiyaz Fahmy, Thulhaadhoo MP Nazim Rashaad, Naifaru MP Ahmed Mohamed, Fonadhoo MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla and Maavashu MP Abdul Azeez Jamaal Aboobakuru.