Lawyers of sacked officers question why some got promoted amidst court case

The lawyers of the high ranking police officers who were dismissed from their jobs based on the advise of the Police Board today questioned why some were given promotions after their jobs were reinstated and while the case is still in High Court, if the state truly questioned the integrity of the officers.

The officers who were dismissed in 2021 as per the directive of the Police Board are Assistant Commissioner of Police Mohamed Jamsheed, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ahmed Mohamed, Chief Superintendent of Police Abdulla Shareef as well as Superintendent Mohamed Davood and Superintendent Ismail Shameem.

Although Civil Court ruled to have the officers reinstated, the verdict was appealed in High Court, which is where the case currently is. Amongst the five, all except Jamsheed and Ahmed Mohamed are still employed at Maldives Police Service following the Civil Court ruling.

Since then, while the appeal process is on going at the High Court, Maldives Police Service promoted Abdulla Shareef to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police.

While the opportunity to settle the matter out of court was previously granted, in today's hearing, the prosecution said that they want to continue the case in High Court as no out-of-court solution had been reached.

However, the officers' lawyers said the case cannot be continued due to the actions of the state since appealing the Civil Court ruling at the High Court. The lawyers questioned why the state promoted officers who were previously dismissed over integrity concerns. They also expressed confusion about the state's intentions, suggesting that the situation has now turned into a farce.

The lawyers further said that civil procedure dictates that the case may be dismissed without trial if there is no possibility of success. They also requested the court to decided on the matter where some officers were promoted after the appeal was submitted.

Rebutting, prosecutors said that dismissal without trial would only be possible in the lower courts and that promotions are granted based on the policies of Maldives Police Service.

However, the judge's bench decided to proceed with the case as the matter highlighted was mentioned without the details of the referenced legal text. The bench further said that the opportunity to address specific matters with reference to legal text would be granted.

While the prosecution sought to quash the Civil Court's judgement, today's hearing ended after announcing that another hearing would be held at a later date.

The High Court bench of Judge Hassan Shafeeu, Chief Judge Hussain Shaheed and Judge Mohammed Salim heard the case with Judge Shafeeu as presiding judge.