Former election supervisor Mohammed Saneem’s attorney, Devanesh Sharma, has asserted that the sanctions imposed by ex-acting director of public prosecutions John Rabuku are void. This argument was presented in court during the consolidation of charges against Mr. Saneem and the former attorney-general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
Mr. Sharma raised two significant points before Magistrate Yogesh Prasad: the legitimacy of the charges sanctioned by Mr. Rabuku and complaints regarding the police’s conduct in relation to alleged violations of Mr. Saneem’s fundamental human rights. He contended that a Supreme Court ruling deemed Mr. Rabuku’s appointment invalid, rendering any sanctions he issued null and void.
Consequently, Mr. Sharma claimed that the charges against Mr. Saneem, which Mr. Rabuku sanctioned, are invalid. He stated that he had informed the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the Judicial Services Commission, and the Office of the President about the illegitimacy of Mr. Rabuku’s appointment.
“We advised those three parties that it was illegal, but nobody listened to us until the Supreme Court made a binding decision,” Mr. Sharma asserted in court. He further maintained that every action taken by Mr. Rabuku in the DPP office is illegal due to the invalid nature of his position.
Additionally, Mr. Sharma brought up the issue of Mr. Saneem’s alleged detention for three days at the Criminal Investigations Department headquarters. Magistrate Prasad emphasized that this concern pertains to constitutional matters that should be addressed in the High Court, which Mr. Sharma accepted.
The State has been allotted 14 days to respond to the motion presented by the defense. The case is scheduled to reconvene on August 20.