The bill of amendments to the Judicature Act, which calls for the number of judges on the Supreme Court bench to be reduced from seven to five, has been sent to the parliament's Judiciary Committee for further review.
The parliament passed the bill initially in just two days and forwarded it to President Dr Mohamed Muizzu for ratification. However, eleven days after the bill was sent to him, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu returned the bill to parliament for reconsideration without ratifying it.
The President's decision was based on advice from the Attorney General, where he said that the bill, as it is phrased now, contravenes the processes set in the Constitution on removal of judges.
Parliament today debated on how to proceed with the bill, with the decision made to forward it to the Judiciary Committee for further review.
The bill was submitted independently by ruling People's National Congress (PNC) MP for Holhudhoo Abdul Satthar Mohamed.
Sending the bill for review to the Judiciary Committee was proposed by PNC Parliamentary Group Leader and MP for Inguraidhoo Ibrahim Falah. Fifty MPs voted in favour of this, with seven voting against.
The bill was initially passed in parliament in a rushed process, with a roll call vote. At the time, Parliament's Counsel General Fathimath Filza, as well as multiple legal professionals, had raised at committee that the bill contravenes the Constitution. However, the bill was passed then without taking these concerns into consideration.
The bill was passed in parliament at a time when the Supreme Court was hearing a case on the revocation of a Constitutional amendment on MPs' loss of seat. The bill was passed when a hearing in the case was already scheduled at the Court.
The case at the Supreme Court is now halted, with the Anti Corruption Commission and the Judicial Service Commission launching investigations against three judges of the Supreme Court, placing them on sudden suspension. One of the three, HusnuSuood, has since resigned.