The Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted a petition seeking to overturn the High Court's order not to accept new evidence against former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom in connection with the Vaavu Atoll Aarah corruption case.

On December 25, 2022, the Criminal Court sentenced him to seven years in jail for money laundering and four years for accepting bribes in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) Corruption Scandal.

President Yameen appealed the Criminal Court judgment at the High Court, which decided on 18 April 2024 to interpret the case to the Criminal Court for a re-examination of the Criminal Court’s decision by the rules set by the High Court.

However, the High Court ordered the prosecution to set aside the evidence submitted under Article 135 of the Criminal Procedure Act while deciding on the case. The High Court ordered the evidence to be set aside, stating that the new evidence submitted by the prosecution was admitted in violation of procedure and hence the evidence should be set aside when a decision is taken in the case

The Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) said the High Court's order to set aside the evidence contradicted earlier decisions of the Supreme Court as the lower court's decision to admit the evidence could be amended when the case is re-examined.

For this reason, the prosecutor's office has filed an application with the Supreme Court on the 24th of this month seeking to overturn the High Court's order not to accept new evidence in the case.

The prosecution asked the Supreme Court to overturn the High Court's decision to set aside the evidence and to allow the defense to file a motion under Section 135 of the Criminal Procedure Act and direct the lower court to decide again on the admissibility of the evidence.

The registry of cases filed with the Supreme Court shows that the case has now been accepted.