JSC rejects Judge Azmiralda's request to hold open hearing

Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has rejected Judge Dr Azmiralda Zahir's request to hold open hearings in the disciplinary case against her.

JSC has summoned Judge Azmiralda to respond to the allegations against her at a hearing tomorrow. Dr Azmiralda requested the hearings to be held open to the public, which the commission has decided against.

However, there have been previous instances where hearings have been held open in cases the JSC investigates against Supreme Court judges.

The JSC is looking into two separate cases against Azmiralda. One concerns allegations that the Judge had exerted undue influence over Criminal Court judges to seek release when her husband, Dr Ismail Latheef, had been arrested.

The second case is her presence when former Judge HusnuSuood had summoned Assistant Registrar of High Court Hussain Mohamed Haneed and addressed him using offensive language.

Judge Mahaz Ali Zahir is also accused in both these cases. The Anti Corruption Commission is also looking into the allegations of exerting undue influence, due to which both judges are currently on suspension.

HusnuSuood was also suspended alongside Mahaz and Azmiralda, but he has since handed in his resignation last week.

Judge Mahaz was summoned to JSC today, where he denied all the allegations raised against him, rejecting them as baseless and false.

Mahaz said that he had been unaware of the arrest of a spouse of a Supreme Court judge until after the Criminal Court had already ruled on his remand.

In a statement issued by Azmiralda's lawyer Ibrahim Shameel, he said that the allegations that the Judge had attempted to influence the case where Dr Saleem was arrested without criminal charges is completely baseless and untrue.

He asserted that the Judge had not made any calls to any judges in relation to the case nor had she attempted to influence its outcome in any way, and had submitted a detailed letter stating this to the JSC.