PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa questioned Sada residents opposing the removal of a Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue from Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) land, asking whether they were ‘Shiv Premis’ and pointing out that their application had ‘conveniently’ omitted any such reference while objecting to the statue’s removal.
The Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar's questioning came as it examined whether the applicants had the locus to challenge its earlier order permitting the MPA to dismantle the statue at Sada.
The court, during an extensive hearing on Tuesday, specifically asked whether the applicants were owners of the land concerned. In response, the applicants stated that they had been residing in the locality.
The court ultimately dismissed the application after the applicants failed to establish their locus standi in the matter, with a detailed order awaited. The proceedings have been adjourned to August 19.
The High Court in June had directed the South Goa Superintendent of Police and the South Goa Collector to convene a meeting with officials of MPA to finalise a date for the removal of the statue that was illegally installed.
The direction came after the MPA submitted that attempts to dismantle the statue on two earlier occasions could not be carried out as adequate police protection was not made available.
