Civil Court Rejects Damas Company Bid to Halt Takeover of Hulhumalé Parking Site

The Civil Court has dismissed an application by Damas Company seeking to stop the takeover of a temporary parking site in Hulhumalé, ruling against the firm’s request for urgent interim orders against the Housing Development Corporation (HDC).

In its judgment, the court noted that Damas claimed the plot — identified as Hulhumalé lot 11822 — had been allocated to the company. However, HDC ordered Damas to vacate the site in a letter dated 25 November 2025, according to the ruling.

Damas argued that it had incurred significant costs related to the plot and said that, if the land were taken from the company, HDC would be unable to pay compensation amounting to MVR 1.9 billion. The judgment did not set out details of Damas’s planned investment on the site or explain how the company calculated the figure.

The company told the court that it had received multiple letters from HDC regarding handover of the plot, and said it had an informal agreement with HDC over the site. Damas also said the land had been cleared and that it had paid rent for the plot.

HDC, for its part, said that while there had been discussions with Damas, there was no written agreement, the judgment stated. HDC also said the plot had been allocated to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation for a period of 35 years.

The court found that Damas submitted its request for an interim order before filing the main lawsuit. In such cases, it said, the applicant must clearly set out the details of the intended claim — something the court found was not sufficiently clear in the affidavit.

Interim orders can be issued only where there is urgency, the judgment said, adding that the presiding judge, Zulaikha Sheeza, was not persuaded that Damas’s application met that threshold.