The prosecution has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court after the High Court declined to review the Criminal Court's decision to release Haleemath Lamha, a former nurse at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), on conditional bail.
Lamha is accused of murdering Filipino nurse Mary Grace Oned Pineda, who also worked at the same hospital.
Prosecutor General's Office Media Officer Ahmed Shafiu said the prosecution would appeal the case in Supreme Court today.
Prosecutors charged Marvin S. Y. Vargas, also a nurse at IGMH and the husband of Mary Grace, along with Lamha. Authorities believe that Lamha and Marvin were having an affair, and colluded in murdering Mary in October, 2021.
Lamha, who was remanded in custody pending trial, was released on conditional bail by Criminal Court last month.
When the prosecution appealed the case to the High Court, the Registrar of the High Court decided that the prosecution had explained the circumstances in which the Court of Appeal should enter into the Criminal Court's decision.
The decision was submitted to High Court judges panel for review last week, which also ruled in favor of the registrar’s decision.
Justice Mohammed Saleem and Justice Mohamed Faisal held that there was no error in the decision of the Registrar. However, dissenting Justice Mohammed Niaz held that the Registrar's decision was not correct.
Judge Mohamed Saleem and Judge Mohamed Faisal, held that there was no error in the Registrar's decision. However, Judge Mohamed Niyaz held that the Registrar's decision was not correct.
Judge Niyaz said the delay in the trial is not a reason to release people from custody. He stressed that the High Court must look into whether it is possible to release people from custody instead of solving the issue causing the trial's delay.
Lamha was also released from custody by the Criminal Court last year. However, the High Court then ordered Lamha to be remanded back into custody.
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