The Supreme Court of Maldives has called on all citizens to abide by the rulings of the courts and warns that legal action would be taken against individuals who question the transparency of judicial proceedings.
The Supreme Court cited that various media outlets and several individuals have been spreading baseless rumors to defame the rulings of the court. The Supreme Court affirmed that it would not tolerate such defamation and legal actions would be taken in accordance with the constitution. The Supreme Court issued a ruling on February 1, ordering to release opposition leaders and nullify the dismissal of opposition parliamentarians.
However, the Supreme Court then revised the ruling and nullified the points that declared Judicial Service Commission had no mandate over the Supreme Court Justices, overriding Article 159 of the Constitution which empowers the Judicial Services Commission to appoint, investigate complaints against, and give recommendations for dismissal of judges and the point ordering the executive to release 9 individuals, with some of them having had their cases finished by 3 tiers of court, some of them having their cases of appeal and trial, and some of them under investigation.