High Court has declared that there was no negligence from State Electric Company, STELCO, in the fire incident that occurred inside Farivaa Electronics in January, 2016.

Located in Faamdheyri Magu in Maafannu-ward of capital city Malé, the two-storey store was burned down completely in the fire that started in the early hours of 19 January 2016. The owner, Hussain Rasheed had filed suit against STELCO at the Civil Court in June.

Farivaa filed suit to get a reimbursement of MVR 33 million for the damages caused, which they linked to negligence on STELCO’s side. They stated that the fire started after the STELCO transmitter near the store sparked and that the fault lies in them.

The Civil Court had in April 2017, ruled in favor of STELCO, after which an appeal case was filed again at the High Court by Farivaa.

On Thursday, High Court issued the ruling in STELCO’s favor.

The ruling stated that an investigation by forensic officers who collected a cable from said transmitter and conducted a physical examination following which it was revealed that the box did not spark that night. Thus, there was no evidence to support the accuser’s claims.

Court further ruled that charges may only be raised once the accuser is able to prove that the defendant neglected their responsibilities granted to the company.

All three members of the bench presiding over the case had unanimously ruled in favor of STELCO.