Parliament on Tuesday voted to dismiss Magistrate Ali Adam following his suspension for messaging two women who went to court for a divorce.
After Parliament's judiciary committee looked into the case and sent it to the floor, 46 MPs voted in favor of removing Ali Adam from the bench. The only MP who voted against it was Kanditheemu MP Abdulla Shaheem Abdul Kareem.
Ali Adam was dismissed after he admitted to calling and sending several inappropriate messages to a woman who went to the Kulhudhuffushi magistrate court for a divorce. The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) submitted two such cases involving Ali Adam to Parliament.
During its review of the JSC's recommendation for his dismissal, the judiciary committee summoned the magistrate and allowed him to speak in his defense. It was the first time that a judge recommended for dismissal by the JSC was allowed to appear at the committee and mount a defense.
Appearing in Parliament, the magistrate said he messaged the divorcees to seek good relations with them out of fear that complaints could be submitted to the JSC concerning his judgments on the divorce cases.
Sending the messages might not have been correct but it was not the worst act under the ethical standards for judges, he said.
He insisted that was no ill intent when he asked the women to delete the messages, which he said he did to avoid problems if someone were to see the messages.
The judiciary committee determined that the JSC followed due process in its investigation. The case was sent to the Parliament floor for a vote in consideration of both the JSC and judiciary committee's recommendation for the magistrate's dismissal.
Ali Adam remained under suspension over the messages since May 23.
He was formerly the Haa Dhaal judicial district's senior magistrate. He was demoted and transferred to the Kulhudhuffushi court as a disciplinary measure by the JSC after investigating a previous complaint over alleged negligence.
