High Court rejects petition challenging Thinadhoo’s city status

The High Court has rejected a constitutional case filed with the court in November asserting that Thinadhoo, an island in GDh. Atoll, was granted city status in 2023 in violation of the law.

The case challenging Thinadhoo’s city status was lodged with the High Court by former magistrate Ahmed Raghib on November 25.

Thinadhoo was designated as a city on August 30, 2023 by then-president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during the 2023 presidential campaign. The incumbent administration decided it would not revise the decision.

In his court filing, Raghib argued that that the population of Thinadhoo is under 10,000 – the legal requirement to be designated a city.

He cited discrepancies in the population list maintained by the Thinadhoo Council and the Department of National Registration (DNR), with the latter declaring the population of Thinadhoo as 7,924.

He alleged that names of at least 115 deceased individuals as well as people who had removed themselves from the island’s registry decades back were added to the population list managed by the Thinadhoo Council in order to artificially boost the population to 10,150.

The High Court’s registrar rejected the case on Monday, citing Article 37 of the Judicature Act, which pertains to matters of original jurisdiction of the court.

Article 37:

From within Constitutional matters, with the exception of matters which are accepted by the Supreme Court related to the Constitution and this Law, the High Court has jurisdiction to adjudicate on the following matters on first instance:

• A case submitted in relation to a law or a part of a law which contradicts the Constitution.
• A case submitted in relation to a regulation created under a law and if this regulation or part of this regulation is seen to contradict the Constitution or a law.

The registrar found Raghib failed explicitly specify in writing the legal basis for the presidential decree issued to designate Thinadhoo as a city.

Raghib has the right to appeal the decision with the High Court’s Council of Judges.

 The issue of Thinadhoo’s city status has also been raised by North Thinadhoo MP Saudhulla Hilmy with the Local Government Authority (LGA) and the Parliament.