The Supreme Court on Wednesday has ruled that the government acted right in seizing the Newport View property that is located at the Bridgeview Platform from Strada, the operating company.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday has ruled that the government acted right in seizing the Newport View property that is located at the Bridgeview Platform.
The property was first released to the operating company Strada in 2016 under the government of former president Abdulla Yameen. In 2019, the government moved to terminate the agreement and seized the property from Strada.
The State later filed a case with the Civil Court to claim MVR 1.1 million in unpaid rent for the property, which is situated at a premium location with ocean views in the Maldives' busy capital, right next to the Bridgeview Platform. The Civil Court ordered Strada to pay the rent value and also vacate the premises, a decision that was later upheld at the High Court in 2021 following an appeal by Strada.
The Supreme Court's ruling on Wednesday was in response to Strada's appeal of the High Court's verdict. The Supreme Court bench which ruled on Strada's appeal saw Justice Aisha Shujune Mohamed, Justice Ali Rasheed Hussain and Justice Dr Mohamed Ibrahim in attendance, with Justice Shujune presiding over the bench.
In today's ruling, the Supreme Court noted that the company had not paid the rent as per the agreement, as admitted by their own representatives during the legal proceedings. Strada's appeal claim stated that the government should compensate the company for taking part of the land allocated to Strada prior to cancelling the agreement, but the Supreme Court's ruling stated that Strada had not been able to prove any basis on how the company could claim compensation under those grounds.
Following this, the three-judge bench ruled that there was no reason to change the 2021 verdict issued by the High Court in this case.
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