More than 18 judicial rulings including financial compensation and administrative decisions were issued against the Ministry of Haj in the past nine years.

Revealing this, an official source said these rulings were issued by the administrative courts in the holy capital and Jeddah governorate. The most important of these rulings is the one issued by the administrative court in the holy capital, setting aside the ministry’s decision to dissolve the board of directors for Motwafi South East Asia Pilgrims, which was issued at the end of the last Haj season.

Sources said the board of Motwafi South East Asia Pilgrims couldn’t conduct their business because of the contents of the legislative ruling. The board was dissolved by Haj Minister Bandar Hajjar in public interest. Share-holders and Motwaffen then filed a lawsuit seeking cancelation of the decision.

A few years ago, Saudi company Labayk which was involved in marketing electronic services during the Umrah season, filed a lawsuit against the ministry in Jeddah administrative court seeking compensation for damages for the period when their practice was halted. They demanded the restoration of their license after it had been canceled by the Ministry of Haj.

The ninth administrative department in the court issued a judicial ruling against the Ministry of Haj forcing them to allow the company to conduct its business as per the ministry’s license. The ruling was not implemented, forcing the company to file another lawsuit against the ministry.

The administrative court in Jeddah issued a preliminary ruling asking the Ministry of Haj to pay SR105 million to the company as compensation for stopping its services.

The ruling came after another company filed a lawsuit demanding compensation of SR705 million for losses that it incurred during the period because of cancelation of its license.