Court dismisses child abuse case after PG withdraws due to delays
Court records show that the PGO has withdrawn several cases this month due to prolonged delays in proceedings.
Top Stories
The High Court on Sunday dismissed a case involving a man accused of molesting a child after the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) decided to withdraw the appeal, citing delays in the trial.
Court records show that the PGO has withdrawn several cases this month due to prolonged delays in proceedings. One such case involved an offence of sexual abuse of a minor, which is not eligible for bail or parole.
The case was filed against a man accused of engaging in sexual acts with a minor in his family. The Criminal Court dismissed the case on 23 July 2023, and the PGO filed an appeal with the High Court on 13 December 2023.
The PGO later decided to drop the case on three grounds:
-
More than eight years had passed since the alleged incident;
-
No hearings had been held in the High Court for two years;
-
The available evidence from the lower court was insufficient.
The accused is reportedly residing at a location owned by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), where both military personnel and civil service employees are accommodated.
