JSC opens application for Supreme Court justices

Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has opened applications for two Supreme Court justice positions.

According to the announcement, applications can be submitted via its portal before 12:00 noon on this coming Thursday.

The two seats on the Supreme Court bench, which has seven justices, became vacant after Dr. Azmiralda Zahir and Mahaz Ali Zahir were removed by the parliament.

Prior to their removal Husnu Suood, who was suspended from the court at the same time as Mahaz and Azmiralda, resigned from the bench accusing the government of interfering with the judiciary. He was replaced by former Chief Judge of the High Court, Hussain Shaheed.

Along with Hussain Shaheed, the other justices on the Supreme Court bench include Chief Justice Ahmed Muthasim Adnan, Justice Aysha Shujune, Justice Ali Rasheed Hussain, and Justice Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim. However, Chief Justice Muthasim has also applied for retirement.

Azmiralda and Mahaz were removed from the court on Wednesday, claiming that they had influenced Criminal Court judges to release Azmiralda's husband from custody.

The move has been criticised by the Commonwealth as well as several foreign organisations and bar councils.