Supreme Court calls Umar Naseer not to proclaim outcomes of unresolved cases
30 May 2011, 5:53 PM
Ahmed Nazeer
The Supreme Court has called on former Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Umar Naseer not to publicly predict court verdicts before judgments were reached.
The Supreme Court said Naseer had proclaimed to the media that the court would rule in his favor in a suit filed by Naseer himself against Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Musthafa.
‘’Predicting the how the court might rule on a certain case obstructs the administration of justice,’’ said the Supreme Court, adding that the court had “authority to stop anything that might influence the judiciary.”
The court also warned that commenting on cases on sub judice was an offence under the Contempt of Court Act, the constitution and other relevant laws.
Such actions are considered as an offence under the ‘’Sub Judice rule’’ in other democratic countries as well, said the Supreme Court.
Last week speaking at a Z-DRP faction rally attended by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Naseer said the MDP “must be warned that they are about to lose two seats in parliament.”
‘’One will be Musthafa. You will remember there is a suit filed against him in Supreme Court, a suit I filed. The suit has almost reached a verdict, and all statements have been signed. I’m sure Musthafa will lose his seat. The next one is [alleged] child molester Adhil [MDP MP Hassan Adil],’’ Umar said during the rally.
Umar filed the suit against Mustafa in 2009, alleging that Mustafa had not been paying a decreed debt.
Article 73 [c][1] of the constitution states that ‘’a person shall be disqualified from election as, a member of the People’s Majlis, or a member of the People’s Majlis immediately becomes disqualified, if he has a decreed debt which is not being paid as provided in the judgment.’’
People’s Alliance (PA) MP Ahmed Nazim is also before the court on corruption charges. The PA is aligned the former President’s faction of the opposition.