The Supreme Court has rejected a second case submitted on Tuesday to "ensure former President Abdulla Yameen's electoral rights."
The top court's registrar decided last Sunday not to register a constitutional case filed on Saturday night.
A fresh case was submitted on Tuesday afternoon. The Supreme Court confirmed to Adhadhu that the new case was rejected two hours later.
The Supreme Court was petitioned to declare that the High Court was depriving Yameen of the right to appeal granted by Article 56 of the constitution by not conducting appeal hearings within a reasonable time.
Yameen's legal team previously said that the case was filed at the Supreme Court over the alleged infringement of his basic rights and electoral rights due to delays in concluding the appeal at the High Court.
“I have filed a constitutional case in the Supreme Court of Maldives on behalf of President Yameen to ensure his rights,” lawyer Adam Shameem tweeted after filing the first case.
Yameen was sentenced to 11 years in prison after he was found guilty of accepting a USD 1.1 million bribe from Yoosuf Naeem to lease Vaavu Aarah.
The appeal of the verdict started at the High Court last month but no hearing has been held since the Eid holidays. Judge Huzaifa Mohamed took leave first to attend to family matters and Judge Mohamed Saleem is now on leave.
The Progressive Party of Maldives-People's National Congress (PPM-PNC) awarded the coalition's presidential ticket to Yameen, but his candidacy cannot be accepted unless the conviction is overturned, Elections Commission (EC) President Fuwad Thowfeek has said.
