High Court case submitted by Nasheed scheduled for next month

The hearing of a case submitted to the High Court by former President Mohamed Nasheed, questioning the validity of the bench of judges commissioned by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to rule on the case on the arrest of the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed, has been scheduled for 4 February 2013.

This has been confirmed to Sun by a lawyer in Nasheed’s legal team. High Court has previously said that the next hearing will be the last hearing for the case.

Nasheed’s lawyer has said that the team had decided to appeal the case in Supreme Court if the High Court rules the bench of judges as lawful.

“If the case is decided against President Nasheed by High Court, we will go the Supreme Court,” the lawyer said.

High Court has ordered the Hulhumale’ Court to halt all proceedings on Nasheed’s case until the High Court produces a ruling regarding the validity of the bench of judges. The public has shown concern for the long duration Nasheed’s case is being stalled in court.

While Nasheed’s legal team has decided to appeal the case to Supreme Court if the High Court rules against Nasheed, it is likely that the State will appeal the case if it is decided against them. It is perceived that the proceedings for Nasheed’s case will not be perused until a decision is made on the validity of the bench of judges.