The decision to advise Chief Justice Dr. Ahmed Abdulla Didi and Supreme Court Justices Adam Mohamed Abdulla and Justice Abdulla Areef was taken by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
JSC reported that the committee investigating complaints filed against the three judges recommended to advise them on its findings after releasing a report. To respond to the report, the three judges had already been granted 30 days.
Although JSC did not disclose whether the judges replied to the report’s findings, the judicial watchdog decided to accept the report and advise the judges according to their recommendations.
The three judges were investigated for taking over a case filed at the Civil Court concerning the failure of Mohamed Ikram Abdul Latheef to pay a decreed debt by the former Deputy Managing Director of Public Service Media (PSM).
Whilst the Supreme Court has been criticised for taking over some cases that are already going on in lower courts, the main decision of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) aims to change laws in order to prohibit the Supreme Court from taking over cases in this way.
In December 2014, the Supreme Court took over the case in question. At the time, the Supreme Court had claimed that after Ikram filed a case at the court, the matter was taken over under supervisory jurisdiction. Nonetheless, the way the case progressed from then on is vague.
