The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has suspended three Supreme Court judges – Husnussud, Mahaz Ali Zahir, and Dr. Azmiralda Zahir – in connection with an ongoing investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

The decision was made during a JSC meeting under Article 25(i) of the Commission’s law. According to a JSC member, the suspension comes after the ACC shared details of its investigation with the Commission.

This suspension occurs shortly after Parliament passed a bill amending the Courts Act to reduce the number of Supreme Court judges from seven to five. It also comes at a critical time when the Supreme Court is reviewing a case about the constitutionality of amendments made by Parliament.

The full bench of the Supreme Court has been examining a case regarding an amendment that would cause Members of Parliament to lose their seats if they leave or are expelled from their political parties. A hearing to decide on temporary orders related to this case was scheduled for today at 11:00, but will not proceed following the suspension of the three judges.

According to the Constitution, judges cannot be removed from office as long as they adhere to ethical standards and principles in their work. A judge can only be removed if the JSC finds evidence of ethical misconduct and receives a two-thirds majority vote from Parliament members. Legal experts, including Parliament’s Counsel General Fathimath Filza, have stated that removing judges through legislative means is not constitutionally permissible.

In her advice, Filza noted that while the Constitution does not specify the number of Supreme Court judges, and changing this number to another odd number is not inherently unconstitutional, the proposed method would effectively remove sitting judges from their positions. She questioned whether this would be the most fair approach, but Parliament did not consider these concerns when passing the bill.

According to “The Maldives Insight” sources, the JSC has been preparing to investigate ethical misconduct allegations against some Supreme Court judges. Government officials believe that numerous cases against these judges have previously been “parked” by the JSC, and claim there is evidence of actions that compromise the judges’ integrity.