Nasheed given additional opportunity to respond to JSC

The High Court has given Former President Mohamed Nasheed an additional opportunity to respond to the procedural issues raised by the Judicial Service Commission, at the trial of the case filed to High Court by Nasheed. Nasheed has requested the High Court to declare that the bench presiding over the case relating to the arrest of Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdullah Mohamed, was appointed illegally.

JSC has claimed by raising a procedural issue that the High Court has no jurisdiction over this matter.

In court today, Nasheed and his legal team said repeatedly that the procedural issues raised by JSC were unclear.

The judges gave Nasheed’s legal team the opportunity to pose questions to JSC to clarify the procedural issues. The judges themselves also posed numerous questions to JSC to clarify the procedural issues.

After the questions were answered by JSC’s lawyers, Nasheed said that the procedural issues were now clear and requested for an additional opportunity to respond them.

It was revealed, through JSC’s lawyers’ answers to the judges’ questions, that the three judges proposed by JSC to the Supreme Court, to be included in the Hulhumale’ Court bench, were not the three judges proposed by Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court to JSC.

The three judges proposed by JSC when it requested for the Supreme Court’s advice on the matter were chosen by JSC.

JSC has earlier argued that the Hulhumale’ Court bench was appointed based on the Supreme Court’s advice, which is equal to a Supreme Court ruling. Nasheed’s legal team has responded to this by saying that advice given by the Supreme Court cannot be deemed equal to a ruling by the court.

Concluding today’s session, Chief Judge of High Court Ahmed Shareef Ali said that the next session of this trial would be held soon, during which Nasheed’s team will present their response to JSC’s procedural issues and the court will subsequently make a decision on the matter.