Personal expenses of several Supreme Court Judges paid from state budget

The Audit Report of Judicial Administration for 2010 has revealed that money had been taken from the state budget for some personal expenses of Judges.

The report endorsed by Auditor General Ibrahim Niyaz and published today indicates that Rf6,500 is assigned as car allowance for Supreme Court Judges; however Rf177,889.92 had been spent in addition to this amount from the state budget as salary and allowance for two drivers of Chief Justice’s car for 2011.

The car allowance for Chief Justice for the year 2011 is Rf78,000, but a total of Rf225,832 was spent as allowance.

Auditor General had requested in the report that the additional amount be returned to the state by the Chief Justice. He had also advised the government to provide a driver to the Chief Justice, and asked the Parliament to make a decision on this matter.

A car belonging to a Supreme Court Judge met with an accident, and after investigation the Police had notified in writing that the accident was the fault of the driver, thus the repair expense should be borne by the driver. However Rf13,200 was spent from the state budget for this repair. Also, the statement given by the driver to Supreme Court indicates that he was not the one driving at the time of the accident.

The report requested to find out who was driving, and to ask this person to repay the amount to the government. The Auditor General also requested Finance Ministry to establish and enforce a law on matters related to cars.

The report also noted that phone allowance was given to Supreme Court Judges without the approval of the Parliament. Each Judge was provided with post-paid and prepaid lines, which had been approved by the Supreme Court bench. All these bills were paid using the Supreme Court budget.

From October 2008 to December 2011, a total of Rf281,519 was spent on phone bills. Also, credit worth Rf2,223 was transferred to another phone. This money had however been paid back by the Judge following complaints.

The report indicates that the money spent on phone bills should be paid to the state by the Judges. Phone bills and other allowances for Judges can only be provided after obtaining approval from the Parliament.

Another issue highlighted in the report was that of salaries worth Rf58,084 being paid to a Chief Magistrate of Hdh. Atoll, for a period during which he did not work. As no decision had been made on how to get this money back, the report suggested that this money be obtained from the employee.

Other issues noted in the report include saving the income of courts in the court accounts, negligence in inventory records, and negligence in bookkeeping.