High Court dismisses case against Police officers, citing misuse of judicial process by State

High Court has today cancelled the appeal case submitted against Civil Court ruling which states that the dismissal of five senior officers on the counsel of the Police Board was unlawful, stating that the State is misusing the judicial process.

The case has been cancelled by the majority on the High Court bench after the case was stalled at the court for about two years.

The High Court has previously issued an order to halt implementation of the Civil Court ruling while the appeal was in progress.

Hearings in the case were held closed, citing national security reasons.

In dismissing the case, the court stated that such actions compromise the credibility of the appeals system and foster mistrust in judicial outcomes.

In 2023, the Police Board formed under President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration and the new Police Service Act saw the dismissal of several members and the appointment of new ones. With this change, the seven member board requested the Attorney General's Office to withdraw the case at the High Court. However, the AG Office has not made a decision on this, and the case remained at appeal stage.

In 2021, the Police Board proposed the dismissal of seven officers. With this decision, two Assistant Commissioners, Mohamed Jamsheed and Ahmed Mohamed were given notice of dismissal. The notice, signed by then Home Minister Imran Abdulla, said that they were being dismissed regarding a case investigated by the Police Board.

In addition to the two, the Police Board also recommended the dismissal of Deputy Commissioner Farhad Fikry, Chief Superintendent Abdulla Shareef, Chief Superintendent Ahmed Shuhad, Superintendent Mohamed Daud and Superintendent Ismail Shameem.

The new Police Board sought withdrawal of the appeal case at the High Court through the AG Office.