High Court has temporarily suspended the reinstatement of Assistant Commissioner of the Maldives Correctional Service Mohamed Asif, who was dismissed from his post last year.

Asif was removed from his position in July last year after being suspended for several months over allegations that he transferred more than MVR 200,000 from the Prisons Club account to various accounts while serving as President of the club.

He filed a case against the state at the Civil Court, challenging his dismissal. The Civil Court later ruled that his termination was unlawful and ordered the state to reinstate him and pay his salary for the period he was dismissed.

However, instead of implementing the ruling, Maldives Correctional Service appealed the decision to the High Court and requested an interim order.

The High Court has since issued an interim order directing that no action be taken to enforce the Civil Court judgment until the appeal is concluded.

Before his dismissal, Asif had been suspended with pay for eight months. Staff members had also submitted a complaint to Commissioner of Prisons Hassan Zareer alleging corruption against Asif.