Judge Ali Rasheed on Tuesday was tasked with leading the Criminal Court following the suspension of the court's Chief Judge Ahmed Hailam.
Judicial Service Commission (JSC) suspended Judge Hailam earlier the same day for posting an image to a Viber group chat of the lower court, which depicted President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and former President Mohamed Nasheed, along with the orchestrators of the November 3, 1988 coup, in chains.
He was suspended for a period not exceeding 60 days, as stated in the Judicial Service Commission Act.
Over the controversial post, JSC launched a disciplinary investigation into the judge and issued a summons for Tuesday morning.
However, Hailam did not attend JSC, instead sending a letter stating that all the information he wanted to offer to the commission were already included in a press release he publicised.
Judge Ali Rasheed formerly served as Chief Judge of Civil Court and Drug Court.
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