SC to hear appeal on dismissed evidence in Yameen’s case on Sep 29

The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for 29 September on the High Court’s decision to dismiss new evidence submitted by the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) in the case concerning the leasing of V. Aarah for resort development, a case in which former President Abdulla Yameen was initially jailed but later acquitted.

The new evidence was submitted by the prosecution to establish that some defence witnesses had given false testimony during the original trial. However, the High Court excluded the material, prompting the PGO to appeal to the Supreme Court.

According to the Supreme Court’s website, the hearing will take place at 11:30 a.m. on 29 September.

At the previous hearing, the bench indicated that sentencing would proceed if no further clarification was required. However, the latest schedule lists only a hearing, with no sentencing session set.

The case is being heard by a three-judge bench chaired by Justice Aisha Shujoon Mohammed, alongside Justices Dr Mohamed Ibrahim and Abdulla Hameed. Justice Azmiralda Zahir has since replaced Justice Abdulla Hameed on the panel, following her removal from the bench.

The excluded evidence includes testimony from Ahmed Nareesh, Advisor to the Youth Minister, who appeared as a defence witness. The material also includes minutes of meetings of the Economic Youth Council, a cabinet sub-committee at the time.

Nareesh had testified that he returned cash to former MP Yousuf Naeem. The Criminal Court found his testimony to be false, leading the prosecution to seek its inclusion as evidence in the retrial.