Conduct trials in schools if there are space constraints: Minister Ihusan

Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan strongly criticized the judiciary today, calling for a system to hold judges accountable for unjustified trial delays, stating that space constraints are not the sole cause.

At the "Bandhu Forum" [remand forum] initiated by the Prosecutor General's Office to resolve the issue of more and more individuals being held in remand, the issue of extended holds due to prolonged trials was highlighted.

A trial should take between six months to a year if the trial is conducted within the time limits stipulated in the Criminal Procedure Act. Those in the field believe this would also solve the remand issue.

However, the Criminal Court, which hears many criminal cases, said the main reason for the delay was the lack of space and resources. There have been cases where it took a year to issue the verdict after the hearings.

At the forum, which was participated by all law enforcement agencies except the judiciary, Minister Ihusan said he did not believe that cases were being prolonged only due to lack of space and resources.

"Are hearings not possible because there isn't a good modern courtroom? Trials can be conducted in the classroom during out of school hours as well. I think there are two issues. True, there is the lack of space as well, [but] those who want to do it would do it regardless of space," the minister said.

"The second problem is the lack of accountability."

The minister said the law sets deadlines for the police for various tasks while the courts do not have such deadlines. There is no time limit on how many days a case must be decided on once it is presented before a judge, he said.

"If [they] don't decide, then who is looking at whether the case was completed or not? If it's not completed, is there no action to be taken? I think accountability should be parallel," he said.

The minister said it was unacceptable for a case before a judge to be delayed without any reasonable justification or explanation. Therefore, a system to hold judges accountable is important, he said.

"Now some kinds of cases are completed by police being awake overnight. Because they are held accountable if they don't prosecute the case within an "X" amount of days. At the same time the individual gets released if they're not charged within "X" many days, and if they're not presented to the court before "X" many says. They have to be answerable, and are questioned," the minister said.

"I believe this system should exist [within the judiciary]."

While the minister called for the need of accountability within the judicial system, a Judicial Service Commission (JSC) exists to investigate complaints regarding judges. The parliament's judiciary committee also has the blanket responsibility of holding courts accountable.

The minister said he did not believe that all criminal cases should be heard by the Criminal Court because each island already has a court which is spent on and is staffed. He said that as there is no space in the Criminal Court at the moment, trials could be held online in courts where there are no active hearings.

"There are islands where a total of 15 cases were raised and all of them are about cases like robbing mangoes from trees. There will be no other cases in those courts. Why not hear cases of remanded individuals in these places until the Criminal Court is expanded?" he suggested.

Speaking at the forum, Attorney General Ahmed Usham said the complaint raised by the Criminal Court about lack of space and facilities is acceptable, and added that the court truly lacks in space. It is a problem that needs to be solved, he said.

The attorney general also said that the government prioritises solving this issue and said that temporary building being developed for the Criminal Court in Hulhumalé would soon be finished. He said this would solve the space constraints at the court.