Order on Remo's anticipatory bail reserved for Jan 7
Children’s Court on Tuesday reserved its order on the application for anticipatory bail submitted by Remo Fernandes in the case of verbal abuse of a minor after his car being driven by his son, Jonah, struck a minor girl injuring her grievously.
While the arguments by complainant Adv Aires Rodrigues focused on the seriousness of the offence, Remo’s counsel Adv Rajiv Gomes stressed on the differences between the victim’s statement and the complaint filed by Aires Rodrigues in an attempt to prove that the allegation of verbal abuse is false.
Adv Gomes sought anticipatory bail for the noted singer stating that by uttering “I wish you had died” to the victim, Remo, had committed a verbal offence. “Its merely an expression of frustration and there is hardly need for custodial interrogation,” he argued, alleging that the complaint had been filed to blackmail, extort and humiliate his client.
Remo’s counsel highlighted the delay of 10 to 14 days in filing the complaint of verbal abuse and held that it reflected falsity and frivolity in the complaint.
“Complainant filed the complaint alleging verbal abuse 10 days after Remo left, almost 14 days after the alleged incident occurred. Yet, the complaint filed before Mapusa police on December 17 does not contain any reason explaining the delay in filing the plaint,” Adv Gomes said.
Noting the difference between the victim’s statement and Adv Rodrigues’ complaint, especially on the subject of place and date of the verbal abuse, Adv Gomes said, “While the complainant claimed that the victim was verbally abused immediately after the accident, her first statement does not mention this. Her second statement shifts the scene of offence to Ward no. 105 of GMC and the date to December 3.”
A screenshot of Adv Rodrigues’ blog post dated December 17 was produced before the Court, which charged that Remo was of no assistance to the victim and verbally abused her after the accident and he didn’t visit her during the last 17 days at GMC.
The blog post also alleged that the incident of verbal abuse occurred on December 1.
“If the victim was psychologically abused, she would have mentioned it in her first statement recorded on December 7,” Adv Gomes pointed out.
He also noted that the abusive words used by the accused are not included in the complaint.
The singer is unlikely to commit further offences as he has a clean slate and has been booked for the first time. “Seriousness of offence decided by punishment for the offences and no other factors,” he said.
The Court was informed that Remo had arrived to cooperate with the investigation but had sought anticipatory bail in apprehension of the imminent arrest in the view of lookout notices issued by Agassaim police.
It was assured that Remo is ready to report to the police station if the Court directed him to do so.
Countering the grant of anticipatory bail, Adv Rodrigues argued that after the accident, Remo and Jonah sat inside the car and did not even call 108 to secure medical help for the victim. “Child abuse began at this point itself,” he said terming the case as ‘a clear case of rash and negligent driving’.
It was held that the Remo had violated his undertaking of December 22 whereby he had assured that he will join the investigation on arrival in Goa.
“This may be a case for a regular bail with stringent conditions, but not for anticipatory bail. Yardstick cannot be different for Louis Berger, Tarun Tejpal and Remo,” Adv Rodrigues said.
He requested the Court to grant custodial interrogation for a day or two so as to ensure that witnesses are not pressurised into altering their statements. He also appealed that Remo’s passport should be taken into possession.
Public Prosecutor Krishna Sanzgiri argued that considering the circumstances under which the victim was, Remo's words added salt to the injuries and hence, should be viewed as a serious offence amounting to psychological abuse. Eyewitnesses, it was stated, confirm the verbal abuse.
PP Sanzgiri also alleged that the victim could have been offered money to withdraw the case.
Discarding Adv Gomes’ argument of apprehension of imminent arrest, she said that the arrest was highly unlikely as the court was already seized the matter.
