Court denies Ameenee Magu tree injunction
Nasheed's attorneys requested a court order to immediately halt the removal of trees until a verdict has been reached.
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By
Aman Haleem
Civil Court on Sunday denied a temporary injunction requested by by Speaker Mohamed Nasheed to stop the removal of matured, shady trees on both sides of Ameenee Magu for road construction.
Former president Nasheed, who leads the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), had filed the case against Road Development Corporation (RDC) and the planning ministry after having called upon the contractors and relevant authorities to think again about the removal of trees amid public uproar caused by the tree removal.
The case was filed by Shunana&Co LLP on behalf of Nasheed, and the lawsuit requested a court order to immediately halt the removal of trees until a verdict has been reached.
Civil Court Judge Mariyam Waheed noted that the general conditions required to issue temporary injunctions were not met in Nasheed's submission.
Reasons why Civil Court denied the injunction:
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The right to legal protection or the existence of a legal basis for the person seeking temporary orders is not explicitly established
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There is no known irreversible damage in the absence of a temporary injunction even if the final judgement is delayed
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The applicant does not have the legal authority to apply for the order
In addition to the injunction, Nasheed asked the court to:
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to declare that project violated local laws, regulations and international conventions
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to complete the necessary studies under the supervision of relevant authorities and technical experts to ensure that the project can be carried out without cutting down trees
While the Male streetscaping project has been heavily criticised by the public, the President's Office had defended the construction of Ameenee Magu, saying that even though "no one wants to cut down trees", the trees on Ameenee Magu needs to be removed because of the damage their invasive roots cause to the underground network of cables and pipelines.
