Team Goemkarponn
DELHI: In a significant development, the Supreme Court has suspended the three-year sentence awarded to Zenito Cardozo by the Bombay High Court at Goa in connection with the 2009 Siridao gang clash that left two men dead.
Cardozo, a known history-sheeter, was convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder by a lower court in 2016 — a verdict the High Court upheld last week. However, the apex court on Thursday granted him relief, suspending the sentence pending further proceedings.
Cardozo was represented by Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Atmaram Nadkarni, along with Advocate Michael Nazareth before the Supreme Court.
Earlier, the High Court had also upheld the sentences of Sachin Padgaonkar and Prasad Kubal, members of a rival gang, who were accused of attempting to murder Cardozo during the same incident. The High Court had directed Cardozo to surrender before the sessions court by November 10.
The 2009 clash between two rival groups at Siridao turned deadly when the gangs attacked each other with glass bottles and knives. Santosh Kalel from Zuarinagar died on the spot, while Johnny Fernandes of Santa Cruz succumbed to injuries later at the Goa Medical College.
The court had discharged Cardozo from murder charges, holding that the killings were not premeditated but occurred in a sudden fight, thus constituting culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Cardozo, who was recently in judicial custody for allegedly assaulting activist Rama Kankonkar, had his custody extended last month along with seven others in that case.
