High Court dismisses petition challenging Thinadhoo's city status

High Court has dismissed a petition seeking to revoke the city status granted to Thinadhoo, Gh. Atoll, on the grounds that the island allegedly did not meet the required population threshold of 10,000.

The petition was filed by lawyer Mohamed Ragib Ahmed on November 21, challenging the designation announced on August 31 during a campaign rally by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The petition alleged discrepancies in the population figures used to justify Thinadhoo's city status.

High Court Registrar Mariyam Hurshida ruled that the petition failed to demonstrate that the case involved a resolution issued by the president under the powers of the parliament. As a result, the case was deemed inadmissible.

The decision by the registrar can, however, be submitted for judicial review.

Ragib’s petition alleged the following irregularities in the population data:

The population data obtained from the DNR through the Right to Information Act showed that, as of November 17, Thinadhoo had 7,906 registered residents. This contrasts with the Elections Commission's (EC) report, which listed the registered population of Thinadhoo as 10,150, divided between 5,076 in the northern constituency and 5,074 in the southern constituency.

Questions have been raised regarding the rapid increase in Thinadhoo’s population within a short time. The city status announcement was a key part of former President Solih’s campaign agenda.

Ragib, who was serving as deputy minister of environment at the time of filing the case, was later dismissed after initiating legal actions against the state.