Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Judicial Commission (KY) said on Wednesday that it would launch a probe into a report that a judge, who was dismissed from his position a year ago, continues to hear cases in Nangroe Aceh Darussalam.
In November 2011, an ethics panel comprising both KY members and a Supreme Court justice dismissed Dainuri, a judge from the Tapaktuan Sharia Court in South Aceh district, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, for sexually harassing a woman whose divorce case he was handling.
Apparently, Dainuri ignored his dismissal and worked on three more cases after he had been dismissed. Dainuri presided over a divorce trial on April 24, 2012. His name also appears on two rulings in two other divorce cases dated June 26 and July 17, 2012.
The KY said that it could not impose another penalty on Dainuri as he was a judiciary member. KY commissioner Imam Anshori Saleh said that Dainuri's superior could be punished.
"It's strange that his superior continued to give him assignments despite the fact that he had been sacked by the ethics panel," he said on Wednesday.
The commission will also get information from the Supreme Court to see if it had followed up on the ethics panel's decision to dismiss Dainuri. "We will look to see if the Supreme Court sent a letter to the President [to get a letter to officially dismiss Dainuri]," Imam said.
Imam said that the letter, if it was indeed issued, could have gotten lost amid bureaucratic red tape. The Supreme Court said that it was not to blame for the kerkuffle.
Supreme Court spokesman Ridwan Mansyur, however, said that Dainuri was in fact still employed by the South Aceh Sharia Court. "I just got word from the Sharia Court that he no longer hears cases. Although it is true he remains with the court," he said.
Following the ethics panel's decision, Ridwan said that the Sharia Court stripped Dainuri of his magisterial duties.
"But, the decision was made two months ago, which means it was this year," he said, indicating that Dainuri's three trials could have resulted in legitimate decisions. "Besides, without a letter from the President, the head of the Sharia Court could not tell him to go," Ridwan said.
Both Imam and Ridwan agreed that verdicts handed down by Dainuri could be rendered null if they were made after he received the letter from the President or an official letter from the head of the Sharia Court.