JSC seeks parliament counsel on pending criminal cases

Judicial Service Commission (JSC) requested parliament counsel on how to handle the large number of pending cases at the Criminal Court.

JSC President Abdulla Areef sent a letter addressed to the Speaker of the parliament Mohamed Nasheed along with an investigative report on the ongoing cases at the Criminal Court, requesting parliament support on addressing the findings in the report.

The report was compiled by a three-member committee from JSC which include Vice President of JSC Masthooru Hunee, Judge Abdul Ghafoor Ibrahim and Thulhaadhoo MP Hisaan Hussain.

Speaking at Tuesday's parliament sitting, the Speaker, who is also a member of the JSC said the judicial watchdog aims to expedite pending cases at court. Therefore, JSC requests the report to be evaluated further by submitting it to the parliament's Judiciary Committee and to provide JSC with the necessary support to tackle the issue, said Nasheed.

According to the report submitted by JSC, there are 1910 pending cases in the Criminal Court, out of which 12 cases have been dragged in court for over ten years, and 126 cases have been pending for over five years. The report noted that since the Criminal Procedure Code came into effect on 2nd July 2017, 181 cases were filed at the court.

The report further highlighted the large number of cases being handled by individual judges and also noted the educational qualifications and experiences of judges.