The Prosecutor General's Office (PG Office) has stated today that they were wrongly charged with and fined MVR 10,000 for contempt of court, and has said the office will appeal the case in High Court.
PGO failed to comply with a Seenu Feydhoo Magistrate Court's directive to present certain information regarding a criminal case. This failure was considered contempt of court, and the office was duly fined MVR 10,000.
In a statement released today, PG Office claimed that the information requested by the court was at the police office and could only be obtained by requesting it from the police. The PG Office stated that it would not conceal any information that it possessed. They further said they considered the charges of contempt unjustified, and would appeal the matter.
The PG Office further raised questions on why the charges of contempt of court were filed against something that occurred outside of court proceedings when the Judicature Act specifically stipulates that the charges can be applied to actions committed during court proceedings.
In the concerned criminal case, the Magistrate Court had instructed the PG Office to disclose the arrest records of the state's witnesses. Despite High Court and Supreme Court having backed the order to release this information, the state has failed to comply.
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