Government denies influence in Supreme Court judge's probe
In a series of tweets, Mahaz said that he personally funded the dinner and there was a receipt of payment as proof.
By
Mohamed Muzayyin Nazim
The President's Office on Thursday denied allegations that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) launched a disciplinary enquiry over Supreme Court judge Mahaz Ali Zahir's conduct due to government interference.\
JSC announced last week that it had initiated an investigation into Mahaz, who had presided over the Supreme Court bench that overturned former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom's conviction.
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It was first noted that the JSC had initiated an inquiry into the matter, when Mahaz said so on a Viber group of judges
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Soon after, the JSC issued a statement stating that it had initiated an inquiry into the disciplinary case of Mahaz
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The case pertaining to Mahaz was over a judges’ luncheon held on the day of Yameen's sentencing in November 2021
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A year after it happened, when the JSC started looking into the matter allegations were levelled against the government
At a press conference held at the President's Office on Thursday, when Atoll Times asked about the allegations, presidential spokesperson Miuvan Mohamed promptly said that “the government will not interfere in the judiciary” and that he had no comments to make on what the JSC is doing.
When asked repeatedly whether he could directly say whether the investigation into Mahaz's case was initiated in any way by influence of the government, Miuvan replied that there is no interference and reiterated that the government has no influence on the judiciary or the JSC.
JSC had said that it was suspected that the luncheon was "hosted by a supporter of someone invested in the case, to celebrate the verdict in a particular manner". The statement also pointed out that the supreme court had not responded to the JSC's request for clarification.
"Despite repeated letters to the Supreme Court seeking clarification of information, they repeatedly objected to clarifying the contents of the luncheon, except by saying that there was a lunch on the same day," the statement said.
JSC added:
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Summoning and questioning of the court staff in the case gives credence to the allegations
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During the process of clearing the information, Mahaz was allowed to disclose information related to the complaint; but the information was not given to the JSC to any extent
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Whether the judge did not disclose this information because at that time the information and documents were in the hands of the judge or not, would be clear only after the commission completes its investigation.
However, Mahaz has denied the allegations levelled against him. In a series of tweets, he said that he personally funded the dinner and there was a receipt of payment as proof.
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