A plot of land in Malé has been allocated for the construction of a new dedicated building for the Supreme Court, which currently operates in the building that served as the presidential palace during former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s administration.
Although the Supreme Court has faced space constraints for many years, several previous attempts to construct a dedicated building for it have been made. Those efforts were unsuccessful, and the Supreme Court continues to operate out of Theemuge, the former presidential palace.
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At the ceremony held last night to mark the 18th anniversary of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Abdul Ghanee Mohamed stated that, like other courts, the biggest challenge facing the Supreme Court as well is space constraints.
“We can all acknowledge that the current government is giving very high priority and making efforts to resolve this issue,” the Chief Justice said.
In that regard, he stated that there is now hope for the Supreme Court to attain its own independent home as well.
The Chief Justice stated that the government allocated a plot of land in one of Malé’s most prime locations within this month to build a court facility for the Supreme Court. He expressed his gratitude to President Dr Mohamed Muizzu for this initiative.
However, they did not state which land it was. And the government has not made that information public so far either.
“This plot symbolises our vision for the future of the Supreme Court. In our view, the Supreme Court must, in every respect, be a venue fitting for its legal mandate,” Abdul Ghanee said.
He expressed hope that physical work on the new Supreme Court building would begin in the near future, bringing a swift resolution to the court’s space constraints.
Due to those constraints, a land plot where ‘Naadhee’ previously stood in Malé was assigned for the construction of a new Supreme Court building. However, that project stalled, and the plot has now been handed over to India’s Tata Group for a housing development project.
While there is a space constraint in other courts in addition to the Supreme Court, MTCC is currently working on constructing a court complex in Hulhumalé, which includes the High Court and the Superior Courts of Malé.
The current administration has also temporarily provided a building in Hulhumalé to run the Criminal Court and the Drug Court.
