The Supreme Court today ruled that MP for Hithadhoo North Constituency, Mohammed Sinaan, has lost his seat as he has a proven debt and is not paying it in accordance with the court order.
The top Court made the ruling at a hearing today.
The five-judge bench of the Supreme Court based its ruling on Article 73, C, (1) of the Constitution.
According to the article, a member of Parliament shall be removed from the membership if he has a proven debt and is not paying it in accordance with the judgment.
The Supreme Court ruled that Sinaan had not been paying the money as per the judgment handed down by the Hithadu Magistrate's Court on October 14,
The respondent stated in court that the debt had been paid in full on the day the case was filed in the Supreme Court.
However, as the petitioner's lawyer, Ali Hussain, pointed out, the lower court ordered the payment of a fixed amount each month. Therefore, the judges agreed that the failure to pay the money regularly until the case reached court violated the constitutional requirement.
The case started with a loan of MVR 3.8 million from the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) involving Sinaan and two others (Ahmed Waheed and Mohammed Salim). The Hithadhoo Magistrate's Court ordered the loan to be repaid within six months.
Since the money was not being paid in accordance with the judgment, the bank filed a case for enforcement of the judgment. Subsequently, on February 13, 2025, a public figure named Ghalib Salim filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to declare Sinaan's seat vacant. The Supreme Court concluded its hearings nine months ago.
