The parliament’s Judiciary Committee, on Monday, passed the amendment presented by the government to increase the number of judges at the Supreme Court.
Henveiru Central MP Ali Azim, on behalf of the government, proposed for the number of judges, including the Chief Justice, to be increased to seven.
The decision to pass the proposal was unanimous.
The reason for the amendment, as stated in the proposal, was to revive the number of justices that were on the Supreme Court bench before laws were changed for political reasons in 2014.
When first founded, the Supreme Court had five judges. The number was increased to seven in 2010. However, during former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s tenure, it was reduced to five yet again. Then-opposition had claimed that the change was made in order to remove former Chief Justice Abdulla Faaiz from his position.
Meanwhile, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is currently investigating matters related to Supreme Court judges.
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