High Court Judge Mohamed Faisal has resigned from his post on Sunday.
Faisal’s resignation was announced by High Court via a post on social media in which the Court thanked Faisal for his services. However, the Court did not disclose the reason behind Faisal’s resignation.
Notably, Faisal’s sudden resignation comes as the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) investigates disciplinary cases against five sitting High Court judges – majority of them the most senior judges serving in the court.
JSC’s decision has been criticized by  former Supreme Court judge Husnu al Suood and main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which have described the move as a planned attempt at controlling courts
JSC responded to the criticism via a statement on Friday night, citing that the Commission does not prioritize a specific course of action when investigating disciplinary cases filed with the Commission based on which court a judge serves in.
The Commission emphasized that it has only proceeded with investigations into disciplinary cases against judges after verifying the information in the complaint and other relevant matters.
Faisal is one of the judges in the bench presiding over a terrorism case scheduled for this afternoon.
Faisal resigned from his post as High Court’s chief judge just last week.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Shariah Law from the College of Islamic Studies.
Faisal was first appointed to High Court on July 24, 2018, near the end of former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom’s administration.
During Yameen’s administration, Faisal sat in JSC, and held the post the Commission’s vice president. Faisal was appointed to JSC as the representative of the president.