Magistrate who called divorce petitioner sacked

Parliament, on Tuesday, has voted in favor of dismissing Magistrate Ali Adam who has been accused of calling and harassing a woman who filed a divorce petition with the court.

The decision came after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), on November 20th, demoted him from his post as two parliamentary motions seeking to dismiss Ali Adam for misconduct in separate cases remained stalled at the parliament. He was demoted to Magistrate at HDh. Kulhudhuffushi Magistrate Court from HDh. Atoll Chief Magistrate, after JSC’s probe in a complaint filed against him found him guilty of negligence in hearing a case submitted to the court, in a third case.

Ali Adam had not appeared before the Judiciary Committee to be questioned over the motion to dismiss him. Subsequently, the Committee decided to dismiss him.

The Committee’s decision to dismiss Ali Adam was approved by the floor with the votes of 46 members out of the 47 members who participated in the vote. Only one member had voted against dismissing Ali Adam.

In light of the vote, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Saleem, who was presiding over the sitting, formally announced Ali Adam’s dismissal.

Ali Adam is accused of repeatedly calling and texting one of the petitioners of a divorce petition submitted to the Kulhudhuffushi Magistrate Courts.

He has been on suspension since May based on the statement Ali Adam provided to the commission, the nature of the allegation against him, and the information collected in the case.

Around the same time, the police arrested two people for threatening to kill Ali Adam. The suspects, identified as a 23-year-old and a 25-year-old, reportedly made the threat after confronting Ali Adam at the Kulhudhuffushi Regional Hospital.

However, it is unclear if the two cases are related.