The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) have refused to respond to queries filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act over the suspension and dismissal of three Supreme Court justices.
Justices Husnu Suood, Azmiralda Zahir and Mahaz Ali Zahir were suspended after the Supreme Court accepted a constitutional case into the government's rushed anti-defection amendments.
ACC sent a letter to the JSC, claiming that the justices were facing an investigation. However, to date, the ACC has not questioned them for the investigation.
Suood resigned after accusing President Mohamed Muizzu and Attorney General (AG) Ahmed Usham of trying to influence the judges.
In addition to the ACC probe, the JSC conducted an investigation into ethical complaints against Azmiralda and Mahaz and approved to dismiss them.
The questions submitted by Adhadhu to the JSC and the ACC included the time the complaints were filed with the ACC, and the exact time the ACC sent the letter to JSC and the details contained in the letter.
However, no response was received even after the statutory deadline for providing information.
Questions submitted to the ACC
- When did the ACC get the complaint against the three judges?
- Was the complaint filed anonymously?
- What is the allegation?
- After clarifying the information, when was it determined that this was a criminal case?
- On what day and at what time did you send the letter to the JSC?
- Was the letter taken physically? Or was it sent from the online system?
- Have you ever questioned any of the accused justices?
Nearly a year after the questions were submitted, the ACC has not yet responded as per the RTI Act.
Questions submitted to the JSC
- Is JSC aware of the type of criminal allegation against the justices?
- Which commission members proposed to hold an emergency meeting on the matter?
- When was the notice of the meeting sent to commission members?
- Which members were in favour and against the suspension of the justices?
It is understood that the ACC letter did not contain any further details except mentioning a criminal investigation. In its RTI submission, Adhadhu said it believed that this was a matter of public interest and could not be kept secret by the confidentiality provisions of the law.
The international community, including the United Nations (UN), criticised the dismissal of the justices.
