The Supreme Court ruled today that the civil court must accept a lawsuit by former Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim seeking compensation for damages over the loss of his seat due to a Supreme Court judgment.
Nazim lost his seat after he was found guilty of fraud and corruption and sentenced to life imprisonment. Nazim sued for compensation after the Supreme Court reviewed and overturned its previous judgment in 2018.
When the claim for the salary, benefits and allowances owed to an MP along with damages for having served a jail sentence was filed with the civil court, the registrar decided not to accept the case. It was rejected on the grounds that the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear claims for compensation in relation to any decision by a court of law.
The civil court's chief judge upheld the registrar's decision when it was appealed. The high court also upheld the civil court's decisions in a judgment with dissenting opinions when the lower court's decisions were appealed.
Nazim's lawyers argued that the lower court and high court ruled on the facts of the claim in the decision not to accept the case. This was one of the points of appeal submitted to the Supreme Court.
Nazim's appeal petitioned the court to determine the right to seek compensation.
The judgment delivered today by the bench presided over by Justice Mahaz Ali Zahir held that the registrar's decision to not accept the case fell outside the bounds of the powers granted by the law.
The registrar's decision that compensation claims cannot be made in relation to Supreme Court judgments amounted to a ruling on the merits of the lawsuit, which could infringe on the right to a fair trial, the judgment stated.
"[...] while the case concerned compensation for damages and to determine that the right exists to sue for compensation for damages, deciding that the damage had been caused as a result of a Supreme Court judgment and that this cannot be the reason upon which to make a claim is the registrar making a judgment on a portion of the lawsuit. This is not the registrar's legal responsibility or duty," the Supreme Court judgment stated.
As such, the civil court must accept and adjudicate Nazim's compensation claim, the judgment stated, overturning the decisions by the civil court's registrar, chief judge and high court.
The civil court has the jurisdiction to hear cases involving compensation in civil disputes, court orders for the release of an unlawfully detained person, and compensation claims under Article 58 of the constitution over arrest and detention, the Supreme Court noted.
The civil court must accept all types of civil lawsuits unless it is stated in clear language in the judicature law, civil procedures law or any other law or regulation that the court does not have jurisdiction, the Supreme Court judgment stated.
The avenues for hearing civil lawsuits must not be closed for reasons such as the lack of a specific form for submission or the absence of the type of case in a law or regulation, it added.
Justice Ali Rasheed Hussain and Justice Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim supported Justice Mahaz's opinion.
After he was sentenced, Nazim had gone into exile and returned after former president Abdulla Yameen left office.
The Dhiggaru constituency's by-election called after Nazim lost the seat was won by former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's son Ahmed Faris Maumoon.
Despite contesting as an independent for the Dhiggaru seat in the last parliamentary election, Nazim was unable to win the seat. He has not been involved in politics since then.
