Justice Adi to turn 65 and retire on May 1

JAKARTA (JP): Deputy Chief Justice Adi Andojo, known for blowing the whistle on alleged collusion at the Supreme Court, will retire on May 1.

Adi will turn 65 years old on that day, the mandatory retirement age, and will be honorably dismissed. Supreme Court Secretary-General Mangatas Nasution told reporters here yesterday that a Supreme Court justice is honorably dismissed when he reaches retirement age and never because of his criticism against the court.

"The dismissal has nothing to do with a former chief justice's proposal to President Soeharto (to sack Justice Adi)," Mangatas said.

Former chief justice Soerjono wrote to President Soeharto last year proposing that Adi be sacked on the ground of his "poor conduct" and for besmirching the body's "good name".

Signed by Soerjono and a number of other justices, the proposal was sent in June last year. It is not clear whether Soeharto ever answered Soerjono's proposal.

Mangatas said Adi's dismissal was based on a Feb. 3 request from the current chief justice Sarwata that the President honorably dismiss three judges, including Adi, because they were to reach retirement age.

Supreme Court judges are honorably dismissed by the President on the recommendation of the Supreme Court. The reasons given are either that the judge has requested retirement, is ill, has reached 65, or is unable to perform.

The President formalized the dismissal on March 5, but it was not made public until this week.

Adi stirred up widespread controversy when he blew the whistle on bribery and collusion in the Supreme Court last year. His action was commended by many people but irked the court so greatly that Soerjono publicly reprimanded him.

Adi accused some justices of colluding with the defendant in a land acquisition dispute over the Gandhi Memorial School project in Jakarta.

He claimed that some justices had been offered a Rp 1.4 billion (US$572,000) bribe in the fraud case against Ram Gulumal, an Indian citizen who was the principal of the North Jakarta school.

Soerjono said there was no collusion at the Supreme Court, but admitted there was a "violation of procedures" in the way the fraud case was parceled out to the wrong panel of judges. (05)