Court coverage ban lifted for Raajje TV

The Supreme Court has lifted a ban imposed on Raajje TV  five months ago from covering any trials or events organised by the judiciary.

The station’s reporters were barred from observing proceedings or attending functions until an inquiry was concluded into alleged contempt of court. Content aired on October 31 where hosts of the Fashaairu morning programme spoke about the injustice of courts in the kingdom of Sodom was deemed to have violated contempt of court regulations.

The remarks were “contemptuous of judges, especially the Supreme Court and Supreme Court justices, and demeaning to the honour and dignity of the whole judiciary,” the Department of Judicial Administration contended at the time, as the privately-owned station insisted they never compared the Maldivian judiciary to the ancient city that faced divine punishment.

After Raajje TV wrote twice requesting permission to resume covering trials, the DJA – which functions under the direct supervision of the apex court – informed the station on Thursday that the Supreme Court’s justices have decided to lift the ban.