Panaji (Goa): Adv. Aires Rodrigues has today filed a Letter Petition before the Bombay High Court at Goa over the total chaos that prevailed in Panaji on 19th March on account of the demonstration organised by the Mining dependants.
In his petition Adv. Rodrigues has urged the High Court to take suo moto cognisance of the very sordid events of 19th March and to call upon the Chief Secretary, North Goa Collector and the Director General of Police to explain as to how such mockery of the law and holding of the State to ransom was permitted.
Adv. Rodrigues has further stated that it was imperative that in accordance with the 1998 directions of the Supreme Court while upholding the Kerala High Court judgement in Communist Party of India (M) v/s Bharat Kumar, the organisers of the protest meeting held in Panaji be made to pay compensatory costs for the massive police force deployed and for the loss, destruction and damage caused to property.
The Supreme Court had held “There cannot be any doubt that the fundamental rights of the people as a whole cannot be subservient to the claim of fundamental right of an individual or only a section of the people. It is on the basis of this distinction that the High Court has rightly concluded that there cannot be any right to call or enforce a “Bandh” which interferes with the exercise of the fundamental freedoms of other citizens, in addition to causing national loss in many ways”
Stating that the events that unfolded in Panaji would make it one of the darkest day in Goa’s history, Adv Rodrigues has in his petition stated that despite prohibitory orders under Sec 144 being in place the law enforcement authorities chose to be mere by standers, while thousands of innocent citizens were stranded for hours together and more importantly hundreds of school students were left in the lurch.
Pointing out that it was a clear case of total collapse of the administration with governance having gone for a toss, Adv. Rodrigues has stated that the entire capital city was brought to a grinding halt with nothing done to prevent the blockade, while the city was held to ransom.
Adv. Rodrigues has in his petition held the Chief Secretary, North Goa Collector and the Director General of Police squarely responsible for the fiasco as they were fully aware that such a situation was likely to arise but took no preventive measures to block the protestors from travelling into Panaji.
Stating that scores of students, tourists, office-goers and others were all inconvenienced and made to suffer, Adv. Rodrigues while wondering why there was no intelligence reports has alleged that the organisers had the blessings of the political establishment and the mining mafia.
