High Court orders closed hearings in Scoop gang case
The first hearing in the case was scheduled for 9:15 pm on Monday. As of Tuesday, the court had not released a video recording of the session.
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The High Court has decided to conduct hearings in camera in a petition seeking to declare a group operating under the name “Scoop” in Addu Hithadhoo as an organised criminal group under the law.
The first hearing in the case was scheduled for 9:15 pm on Monday. As of Tuesday, the court had not released a video recording of the session. The High Court ordinarily publishes recordings of open hearings on its official YouTube channel.
The hearing was convened to address procedural matters. The court decided that hearings will not be open to the public at this stage, and that video recordings will not be released unless the bench decides otherwise.
The High Court schedule does not identify the group by name. The case is being heard by a three-judge bench comprising Mohamed Shaneez Abdulla, Abdul Maniu Husain and Ibrahim Mahir.
A hearing had initially been scheduled for 22 February but was later cancelled. This is the first case filed under the Prevention of Gang Crimes and Other Dangerous Crimes Act, which came into force in August last year, seeking a judicial declaration that a group constitutes a gang.
The group known as Scoop has also submitted a petition to the High Court raising procedural issues, including whether hearings in gang determination cases should be conducted openly. The petition states that if the group is declared a gang, its members may face prosecution in the future, and questions whether open hearings in higher courts could affect proceedings in lower courts.
The Prosecutor General's Office has requested the High Court to declare the Scoop group a gang and to identify nine individuals as members. The prosecution has also asked the court to order the dissolution of the SKP Sports Club, which it alleges is linked to the group.
In addition, the prosecution has requested an order directing the relevant council authority to remove the names “Scoop”, “Scoop Kanmathi” and “SKP” from walls and other public places.
The High Court has not yet issued a ruling on the substantive requests.
