Court accepts disqualification case against MP Thasmeen

The Supreme Court has accepted a case requesting to declare that Kendhoo MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali has lost his seat at the parliament.

Lawyer Mohamed Waheed Ibrahim, who filed the case, told Sun Online today that the case was accepted today.

Waheed told Sun Online that the case was filed with reference to Article 73 (c) and Article 74 of the Constitution.

Article 73 (c) states that a person shall be disqualified as an MP immediately if he has a decreed debt which is not being paid as provided in a judgement; while Article 74 states that any question concerning the qualifications or removal, or vacating of seats, of MPs shall be determined by the Supreme Court.

Waheed said that the Civil Court ordered Thasmeen on 21 April 2011 to repay the loan worth MVR 1.9 million taken from Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim, in monthly instalments to the Court within six months.

Waheed said that Thasmeen failed to make the monthly payments and therefore had a decreed debt which was not being paid as provided in the judgement, as stated in Article 73 (c) of the Constitution.

He said that more than six months later, Nazim filed a case to Civil Court regarding the implementation of the sentence, following which Thasmeen repaid the loan; however, he was already disqualified as an MP as per Article 73 (c) of the Constitution and cannot be reinstated without election.

Earlier, a similar case was filed against Thasmeen by former Thimarafushi MP Mohamed Mustafa to Supreme Court. This case was rejected by the court.