Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: The Bombay High Court at Goa has directed the District Court to expedite a trial in the infamous power scam involving BJP Minister Mauvin Godinho.
The High Court has asked District Judge Vincent M. De Silva to complete the trial by January 15, 2023, and submit a quarterly report to the Chief Justice.
The order was passed in a petition filed by All Goa Private Bus Owners Association President Sudip Tamankar.
“The High Court has asked District Judge Vincent M. De Silva to complete the trial by January 15, 2023, and submit a quarterly report to the Chief Justice. It is good to whip against Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, who collected bribes then and still continues collecting haftas in the transport dept and against the (BJP) govt which is trying to stifle the case,” Tamankar said.
The All Goa Private Bus Owners Association has welcomed the intervention of the High Court, saying it has full faith in the Judiciary. The petitioner had alleged that the trial against Mauvin Godinho in the power scam was stopped by using political pressure after an understanding with then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar after the former joined BJP in 2017.
The Rs 4.5Cr Power Scam was exposed by chief minister Manohar Parrikar in 1998 against the then power minister and his current cabinet colleague and panchayat minister Mauvin Godinho.
On January 17 2018, while disposing of Mauvin Godinho’s petition, which was pending before the Supreme Court for over a decade, a bench comprising of Justice N V Ramana and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer, while upholding the High Court order directing framing of charge, declined to give any relief to the former Power Minister Mauvin Godinho in the Special Leave Petition which he had filed in 2007.
Mauvin Godinho had challenged the order passed by the Bombay High Court directing framing of charges against him in the multi-crore power scam case. By an order dated October 26, 2007, then Bombay High Court at Goa Justice Nelson Britto had directed framing of charges against Mauvin Godinho under Section 13(1) (d) (i) and (iii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 read with Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code.
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