The case concerns an incident in October 2022, when Haneef was allegedly summoned to the Supreme Court and spoken to in a demeaning manner by then Supreme Court judge Husnu Su'ood, with judges Mahaz and Azmiralda present.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has decided to investigate another disciplinary case against suspended Supreme Court judges Mahaz Ali Zahir and Dr Azmiralda Zahir.
Mihaaru News reports that the JSC made the decision on Thursday to examine a separate case involving former High Court Assistant Registrar Hussain Mohamed Haneef.
The case concerns an incident in October 2022, when Haneef was allegedly summoned to the Supreme Court and spoken to in a demeaning manner by then Supreme Court judge Husnu Su'ood, with judges Mahaz and Azmiralda present.
JSC had previously launched an inquiry into Su'ood’s conduct for allegedly using abusive language toward Haneef. However, following Su'ood’s resignation last week, the commission will no longer proceed with his case under the previous procedure.
JSC had initially begun investigating the matter in 2022 but had not made a decision until now. After reviewing the case, the majority of JSC members agreed that Mahaz and Azmiralda share equal responsibility for the incident and decided to proceed with an investigation against them.
At yesterday’s commission meeting, High Court judge Mohamed Niyaz and lower court judge Farhad Rasheed, both elected to the JSC, did not vote in favor of pursuing the case.
The incident in question occurred after the High Court allegedly delayed sending an email to a family member of an appellant. The Supreme Court had requested clarification on whether an order had been issued and had asked for a letter to be shared with Immigration, the delay causing difficulties in completing the appeal process within the timeframe.
This new investigation adds to an ongoing case against Azmiralda and Mahaz, which was filed by a private individual claiming that a Criminal Court judge had been called and threatened.
The JSC had already suspended Supreme Court judges Husnu Su’ood, Mahaz, and Azmiralda on February 26 in connection with an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigation. The action was taken after the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) shared details of its investigation with the commission, although the specifics of the case remain undisclosed.
Their suspension came shortly after the Parliament passed an amendment to the Judicature Act, reducing the Supreme Court bench from seven to five justices.
It also coincided with the Supreme Court’s hearing of a case challenging a constitutional amendment that mandates the removal of MP's who defect or are expelled from their political party.
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