Criminal Court Grants Mayor Saeed Ali Time to Appoint Lawyer in Thi Nadu Population Case

The Criminal Court has granted Mayor Saeed Ali the opportunity to appoint a lawyer and respond to charges related to allegedly providing false information about Thi Nadu's population to obtain city status. A hearing was conducted on Friday where the state clarified the charges, which include issuing a knowingly false document and providing false information to an official agency. The state’s lawyer noted that if a plea agreement is reached, the sentence for issuing a knowingly false document could be reduced to one year and 12 days, while the punishment for providing false information could be reduced to three months. Mayor Saeed requested time to study the documents and appoint a lawyer, citing his ongoing duties as mayor. Judge Ahmed Shafeeu, presiding over the case, remarked on the importance of respecting court orders and noted that the accused had not attended previous hearings without acceptable excuse. The next hearing is scheduled for November 10, where the accused must respond to the charges and present evidence.