The Supreme Court has ruled that the lease agreement for Minaavaru Island with Impex Fisheries Maldives Pvt Ltd, owned by Meedhoo MP and MDA leader Ahmed Siyam Mohamed, was terminated lawfully.

Minaavaru was leased to Impex Fisheries in 2010 for agricultural purposes under an agreement with the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture. A monitoring visit conducted on 12 August 2019 found that the company had failed to carry out the agreed work on the island. The Ministry subsequently issued a 30-day notice warning that the contract would be terminated if progress was not made.

Following continued non-compliance, the Ministry terminated the agreement on 5 May, instructing Impex to remove its goods within 14 days and prohibiting the removal of any trees from the island.

Impex later filed a case with the Civil Court, seeking a temporary injunction to prevent the Ministry from taking any further action that could affect the company’s rights. The Civil Court granted the injunction, a decision later upheld by the High Court.

The state appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the injunction was unconstitutional. In a unanimous ruling led by Judge Abdulla Hameed, the Supreme Court overturned the High Court’s decision, finding that Impex had not provided sufficient evidence of irreparable damage to justify a temporary injunction.

The verdict confirmed the Ministry’s right to terminate the 2010 lease agreement and proceed with the recovery of Minaavaru Island.