In a setback to ousted Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed, the Supreme Court here today disqualified an MP from his party in connection with a financial irregularity case.
The move comes ahead of the crucial session of Parliament that is scheduled to begin in the first week of March.
The apex court said that Mohammed Musthafa of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) was no longer considered to be a member of parliament as he does not fulfill the criteria needed to hold the position.
The verdict came at a hearing of a case filed by a member of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) of former dictator Maumoon Gayoom.
Umar Naseer, the PPM member who had filed the case, had sought to disqualify Musthafa, who was the MP for Thimarafushi constituency and member of the MDP parliamentary group.
The case filed by Umar states that Musthafa had not repaid a loan of over $31,000 borrowed from the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) which was formerly run in the country.
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Article 73 of the constitution states that an elected member of parliament would be disqualified if found to have a decreed debt which is not being paid as provided in the judgement.
The verdict was delivered through a majority of four judges out of the seven presiding over the case.
The remaining three Judges had issued two different dissenting opinions pertaining to the case.
The Parliament session slated for next month would see a show of strength by both MDP and the current regime headed by President Mohammed Waheed Hassan.