Supreme Court has unanimously passed a verdict yesterday stating that expecting expedited trial cases and decreasing number of detainees without providing adequate resources is like drawing a line in the ocean or reaching to touch the moon while on the ground.
A ruling by the Supreme Court of Maldives yesterday declared that anticipating an expedited trial on the cases of detainees is equivalent to reaching to touch the moon with your feet on the ground so long as the courts are deprived of adequate resources.
Supreme Court had determined this in a decree passed yesterday in relation to the State filing an appeal over the criminal court releasing a person accused of importing 72 kilograms of drugs into the country who had been placed in remand in custody until the end of the hearing.
The decree emphasized that the issue of indefinite detention pending trial can only be resolved once the State facilitates adequate resources and space to the courts. The ruling decreed with the unanimity of all three judges that heard the case further remarked that expecting an expedited trial over the cases of the detainees without facilitating these requirements is parallel to drawing a line across the oceans or reaching to touch the moon while still on land.
"Anticipating the expedition of court trials or decreasing the number of people in detainment while government agencies has not provided the judiciary with resources is like drawing a line in the oceans with a finger or attempting to touch the moon on a moonlit night while on land," read the ruling decreed by Judge Husnu Al Suood with the unanimity of three judges.
The verdict stated that neither the delay of an ongoing trial nor the occurrence of a health issue is cause for exempting the detainment of accused individuals and maintained that the solution to such situations is the expedited procession of trials and bringing the case to an end. The verdict further established strict policies for monthly reviewal of the detainment of detainees until the end of their trials.
In addition to Justice Husnu Al Suood, the Supreme Court bench that heard this case yesterday consisted of Justice Mahaz Ali Zahir and Justice Mohamed Ibrahim.
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