Parliament of Maldives has removed Judge Abdulla Didi from Supreme Court of Maldives.
Judge Abdulla Didi was removed from the Supreme Court with votes from 72 parliamentarians, making it the first time the parliament removed a judge citing recommendations from Judicial Service Commission (JSC) after investigations found a judge was found guilty of corruption, accepting bribes and misconduct.
A judge may be removed from office only if the JSC finds that the person is grossly incompetent, or is guilty of gross misconduct, and submits a resolution to the parliament supporting the removal of the judge, which is passed by a two thirds majority of the parliamentarians present and voting, according to the Article 154(b) of the Constitution of Maldives.
Before his removal, Judge Didi was under a suspension until JSC concludes the investigations on the accusations against him. While he was on suspension, he had travelled to Malaysia on July 28 for medical consultations.
During the debate that was held before his removal from the top court, parliamentarians expressed this marks the first in the efforts to reform the Judiciary of Maldives.
On August 22, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had nominated Dr. Azmiralda Zahir and Aisha Shujoon Mohamed to be appointed to the Supreme Court. The nominations have since been accepted by JSC.