State ordered to pay MVR 800,000 due to delayed response

The Civil Court of Maldives has ordered the state to pay a sum of over MVR 800,000 for the State's failure to reply within the allocated timeframe.

The case was lodged to court by the company contracted to work on the Green Office Building, who claimed over MVR 800,000 in unpaid fees from the Housing Ministry.

However, the ministry failed to respond to the claims within the allocated duration.

In today's hearing, the court said that the State's response to the case surpassed the duration allowed, and that the court reserves the right to issue a verdict in absentia in such circumstances. While this is so, the claimant had requested for a verdict, due to which the state was ordered by Judge Farhad Rasheed to pay the over MVR 800,000 sum within three months.

The Civil Procedure Act, which was referred to in issuing the verdict, also details that the defendant has the right to request a review of the ruling within six months of the ruling being delivered.

Verdicts like this have been issued in previous similar cases as well.