The High Court has temporarily suspended the enforcement of a Civil Court ruling ordering the reinstatement of former Maldives Correctional Service Assistant Commissioner Mohamed Asif.

Asif was dismissed last year following an investigation into allegations that more than MVR 200,000 from the Prisons Club account had been transferred to various accounts. Before his dismissal, he had been suspended on full pay for eight months.

In May, the Civil Court ruled that the dismissal process was procedurally flawed and ordered the government to reinstate Asif, as well as pay his salary and benefits for the period he had been out of office.

The state appealed the ruling to the High Court, which has now issued an interim order suspending the implementation of the Civil Court's judgment until it reaches a final decision on the appeal.