Nazim can seek compensation for parliament seat loss, SC rules
Nazim, who had close ties to former president Abdulla Yameen but are now foes, was charged with fraud and criminal breach of trust in 2010.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
Supreme Court on Sunday ruled that former Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim could sue in the Civil Court for damages in connection with his 2015 life sentence that disqualified him from the parliament.
The Supreme Court also ordered the Civil Court to hear the case and decide if Nazim files the case within 14 days from Sunday.
Nazim, who had close ties to former president Abdulla Yameen but are now foes, was charged with fraud and criminal breach of trust in 2010. The Criminal Court ruled at the time that Nazim was not guilty of the offence. After that:
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2012 - Prosecution appealed Criminal Court judgement at the High Court; the High Court upheld Criminal Court judgement
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2014 - Prosecution appealed High Court judgement at the Supreme Court
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6 April 2015 - Supreme Court convicted Nazim and sentenced him to 25 years in prison
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Following the verdict, Nazim, who was serving as the deputy speaker of the parliament, lost his seat
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25 October 2018 - Nazim filed a plea at the Supreme Court for reconsideration of his sentence
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13 December 2018 - Supreme Court on retrial quashed his sentence
After the Supreme Court quashed his sentence, Nazim filed a civil suit seeking compensation for the loss of fundamental rights and freedoms due to the life sentence imposed on him.
However, the case was dismissed by the Civil Court and later the High Court.
After the lower court appeals for compensation ended against Nazim, he then filed the case in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court on Sunday ruled that the case should be heard by the Civil Court if it is filed by Nazim within the next 14 days.
The Supreme Court ruled:
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The door to acceptance of cases shall not be closed on the grounds of lack of a separate form for filing a case or the type of case not specified in the rules
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The Civil Court has jurisdiction to hear general civil cases unless otherwise provided by law
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The reasons for the decision of the Civil Court registrar to dismiss the case were upheld by the Civil Court and the High Court in violation of the procedural and legal norms
