The Parliament’s Judiciary Committee has voted to forward the Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) decision to dismiss Criminal Court Judge Hussain Faiz Rashad to a Parliament floor vote.
Judge Faiz was suspended in October after the JSC launched an inquiry into his decision to release a suspected drug kingpin from police custody. In November, the commission concluded that Faiz had violated the Constitution and relevant laws in ordering the release and subsequently requested Parliament’s approval for his dismissal.
The Judiciary Committee began reviewing the case on Monday. During Tuesday’s meeting, Faresmaathoda MP Ashraf Rasheed said the committee found no procedural issues in the JSC’s handling of the case, adding that Faiz had not filed any complaint with state institutions regarding the decision.
A motion to advance the dismissal was submitted and seconded by members and passed unanimously by those present.
The suspect released by Faiz, Ali Anwar Mohamed of S. Hithadhoo, had been arrested in 2019 over the smuggling of 70 kilos of drugs into the Maldives aboard the Iranian vessel Al-Shaban. After his release due to remand expiry, Anwar fled to Sri Lanka but was detained and deported back to the Maldives.
Faiz justified his decision by citing procedural lapses by police, including issues with a search warrant executed after the arrest and the lack of evidence recovered.
He was previously suspended in November 2021 over leaked audio allegedly linked to former President Abdulla Yameen’s money-laundering trial, but the JSC lifted the suspension after determining the audio did not match his voice. Faiz joined the Criminal Court in 2019 after serving as president of the Employment Tribunal.