High Court has accepted a case submitted by State Electric Company (STELCO) seeking to dismiss a new ruling by Malé City Council that put into effect a 154 percent increase in the fees of work that require road closure, junction uncovering, and roadworks that require digging.

STELCO had previously filed the same case to the High Court, which was disregarded by the court. However, upon resubmission of the case, the registrar of the High Court accepted the case yesterday.

The case submitted by STELCO previously noted to dismiss two regulations set by the council which was unlawful and increased the prices of services that were necessary for the residents of Male'.

This includes the regulation on works that require and do not require road closure, road digging works and general works that require uncovering of junctions.

Managing Director of STELCO, Ahmed Shareef stated that the city council had brought these changes overnight without prior notice. He further added that the sudden change has been creating several difficulties for the company.

High Court noted that while STELCO described the regulations as unlawful, they had failed to provide any substantial reasoning due to which they were unable to accept the case.