Committee refers Chief Justice retirement allowance to Pay Commission

The Finance Committee of Parliament has decided to proceed in line with the Pay Commission's guidance after seeking advice from the Ministry of Finance on a proposed additional allowance of MVR 70,000 per month for a retiring Chief Justice.

The decision follows a proposal to amend the Judges' Retirement Rules after the current Chief Justice, Muthasim Adnan, submitted his retirement to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) in May. The proposed amendment includes calculating the retirement allowance based on both judicial service and total state service. Under the revised calculation, Chief Justice Adnan would receive MVR 493,600 instead of the current MVR 185,100.

In addition to the revised allowance, the proposed package includes a transport allowance (covering driver’s salary and fuel) and a MVR 70,000 monthly living allowance.

At Monday’s Finance Committee meeting, members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) opposed the proposed amendment, while ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) members supported it. Due to the heated debate, discussion on the agenda item was cut short.

During today’s session, PNC MP Mohamed Mamdooh proposed that the Finance Ministry’s advice be sought before the rules are amended, noting that the change would result in additional state expenditure. He recommended that the Pay Commission carry out any amendments in accordance with its procedures, once the Ministry’s advice is received.

The proposal was seconded by PNC MP Abdulla Shareef and passed by a majority of committee members.

MDP members had previously raised concerns that the proposal to increase the Chief Justice’s retirement package was being introduced as part of a political deal.