Criminal Court Judge Dheebanaz appointed to High Court

Judicial Service Commission (JSC), on Thursday, has revealed its decision to appoint Criminal Court Judge Dheebanaz Fahumy to High Court.

JSC took the decision after interviewing applicants for the two vacancies for judges at High Court.

In this regard, following interviews by JSC’s Advisory Committee on Appointment of Judges, they had decided to appoint Dheebanaz and Mohamed Saleem, Morning Villa, F. Biledhoo, for the posts.

Dheebanaz who was the first female judge to sit in the Criminal Court has a Bachelor of Law (Honors) from Islamic University Malaysia, and a Master of Law from University of Canterbury in New Zealand. She has 17 years of experience in criminal litigation – including having served as the Deputy Prosecutor General.

Meanwhile, Saleem completed his bachelor’s degree from the Islamic University of Maldives. He has served as a legal officer at High Court for 12 years.

The two vacancies for High Court were announced to replace Judge Abdul Rauf Ibrahim who resigned and to replace Judge Abdulla Hameed who the Parliament voted to dismiss.

A total of eight people applied for the post including Dheebanaz and Saleem – such as former Deputy Prosecutor General Mariyam Nihayath.

The basic salary of a High Court judge is MVR 36,000. Along with this, they receive a living allowance of MVR 15,000 and a risk allowance of MVR 3,300. They also receive a medical and phone allowance.