Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has stated that all state institutions need to remain within the legal boundaries in the midst of power struggles between the Supreme Court and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) over top court judge Abdulla Didi's suspension.
While the jurisdictions of both the JSC and Supreme Court are in question, Maumoon posted a tweet calling all state institutions to remain within their legal boundaries.
"As a citzen of Maldives, I urge all state institutions to act within their jurisdiction as stated in the constitution", read the tweet.
Last week, JSC made the decision to suspend the judge after the police notified the commission of an ongoing criminal investigation involving the judge.
However, Judge Didi denied allegations against him and filed a constitutional dispute at the Supreme Court, requesting to dismiss his suspension. The top court then issued a stay order on his suspension, ordering all authorities not to take any action against the judge. However, the JSC made the decision to maintain the suspension, stating that the Supreme Court order obstructs the commission's legal obligations.
Since then, the Judicial Committee backed JSC's decision, stating that JSC's move to suspend Judge Didi was within their legal jurisdiction. In response to the committee's decision, the Supreme Court issued a second order, declaring that all action taken based on the JSC's decision defying Supreme Court orders will be invalid.
However, the parliament on Tuesday resolved that the Supreme Court's stay order on Judge Didi's suspension was unconstitutional, after which the Supreme Court again issued an order that said disciplinary cases against judges cannot be pursued based on a ruling they issued.
Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom
