The Civil Court of the Maldives has halted the nullification of over 80 illegal vehicle registries.
Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation earlier said it nullified about 200 illegal vehicle registries in Male’ City. The ministry said the registration of expired vehicles and 98 vehicles illegally transferred to the Male’ Zone has been nullified.
However, Civil Court ordered the ministry to stop the nullification of 87 vehicle registries after the owners of some vehicles made the request. Civil Court ordered that no action be taken in connection with the two notices issued by the transport ministry to nullify the registration until the case is resolved. Civil Court also ordered that no discrimination be made in providing services to any of the vehicles included in the two notices.
The prosecution has argued that allowing the use of vehicles with nullified registrations under a court order could undermine road safety. However, the Civil Court order said the income of the owners of the vehicles may be disrupted and irreparable damage may be caused if an interim order is not issued in the case.
Traffic congestion is a major problem in the Greater Male’ Region. Over 80,000 vehicles have been registered in Male’, of which 4,500 are cars. Previously, many vehicles were registered under the same garages but the transport ministry made changes to the regulations which capped the number of vehicles that can be parked in one garage.
