Umar Naseer’s dismissal case to continue despite failure to approach appeals committee, rules court

Former Deputy Leader of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Parrty (DRP) must first appeal his dismissal with the party’s appeals committee before seeking to resolve the matter in court, DRP lawyer and former Attorney General Husnu Suood has argued in the Civil Court.

However Judge Ali Rashee Hussein ruled that although Suood’s argument was the procedure followed in many democratic countries, according to Maldivian law it is not required to exhaust all other avenues before seeking redress in the court system.

Suood claimed that Naseer had not tried to resolve the dispute outside the court despite having the right to do so.

However, Judge Rasheed ordered the DRP to respond to Naseer’s accusations and decided that the suit would continue, claiming precedent in another case in which the High Court invalidated the Civil Court’s ruling and ordered the case to continue.

Naseer was dismissed by the DRP’s disciplinary committee following allegations that he conducted protests without authorisation from the party’s leadership.

Naseer’s lawyer claimed that the party’s charter did not give the Disciplinary Committee the authority to take action against a Deputy Leader and that the Deputy Leader could only be dismissed if one third of the party’s national congress voted in favor of dismissing him.

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