The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has opened nominations for the post of Chief Justice following the retirement of Ahmed Muthasim Adnan, with three controversial former judges now seeking the country’s top judicial seat.
According to media reports, former Supreme Court Justice Abdul Ghani Mohamed, former High Court Chief Justice Shujau Usman, and former Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed have filed nominations.
All three have been at the centre of serious allegations and controversies throughout their careers.
Ghani, previously a judge at the Civil Court and High Court before joining the Supreme Court, was dismissed from the bench in December 2019 following a JSC report. Parliament voted 64-0 for his removal while he was suspended over allegations linked to several politically sensitive rulings, including halting the suspension of Supreme Court Justice Abdulla Didi over bribery claims and issuing an order disqualifying 12 MPs.
Shujau Usman, who began as a magistrate before serving at the Criminal Court, was part of the bench that convicted former President Mohamed Nasheed and former Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim in terrorism cases widely condemned at home and abroad as rushed and legally flawed. He was later accused of political bias during the 2018 presidential campaign for allegedly lobbying support for then-President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom. Usman resigned as High Court Chief Justice in August 2020 after the JSC initiated proceedings for his dismissal.
Abdulla Mohamed, better known as Abdulla Gazee, rose to prominence as Chief Judge of the Criminal Court and was at the centre of a judicial crisis in 2012 when his arrest triggered a mutiny by police and military officers that led to President Nasheed’s resignation. He was accused of obstructing police investigations into corruption cases involving political elites, maintaining close ties with criminal gangs, and releasing dangerous suspects. The JSC had previously found him guilty of making politically biased remarks in 2011 but failed to take action.
The three nominations come as the judiciary faces heightened scrutiny following recent political manoeuvres by the JSC and Parliament. Muthasim Adnan’s retirement saw Justice Abdulla Hameed temporarily take over the duties of Chief Justice.
The current Supreme Court bench has seven judges, three of whom were appointed by President Mohamed Muizzu. The Muizzu-aligned Parliament recently removed Justices Azmiralda Zahir and Mahaz Ali Zahir following a hasty JSC probe, while Justice Husnu Al Suood resigned after alleging political interference. The suspensions and removals coincided with the court preparing to hear a case challenging a constitutional amendment that bars MPs from switching parties or retaining seats after expulsion.
The selection of the next Chief Justice will cement the composition of a Supreme Court already reshaped by the Muizzu administration.