PANAJI
In a case that has raised eyebrows over the functioning of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), a homeopathic doctor was compelled to approach the High Court and succeeded after his application for a trade licence was withheld on grounds of alleged arrears dating back nearly a decade.
The case has spotlighted the opaque processes within the CCP's administrative corridors, where officials mysteriously claim files “do not exist” when accountability is sought through the courts.
The case pertains to Dr Jose Philip Clement Dias, an alternative medicine practitioner who had sought a business licence to open a clinic in his owned premises at the Alfran Plaza building in the heart of the city.
Dias had expected a routine approval but to his shock and surprise, the CCP refused to issue the licence and cited outstanding dues of Rs 35,000, reportedly linked to a trade licence of a past tenant.
The arrears, according to the Corporation, were connected to a licence No. 7320, which had lapsed in 2016.
Dias argued that he had no connection with that old licence and pointed out that the premises had remained vacant from 2016 until his recent application in 2025. He also claimed that the dues were not in his name and therefore could not be held against him and his legitimate application to operate a clinic blocked.
No amount of reasoning furnished by Dias to the authorities at the CCP was bearing fruit leaving him with no option but to knock the doors of the Bombay High Court where he succeeded at the first hearing itself.
During the hearing, the CCP assured the court that if the doctor submitted a fresh application, a decision would be taken within eight days. On the basis of this assurance, Dias withdrew his petition.
The court’s intervention effectively compelled the CCP to act, underscoring the unusual necessity of judicial oversight in what should have been a straightforward administrative matter.
The case indicates deeper inefficiencies within the CCP’s licensing system, where unresolved arrears and missing files often stall legitimate business activity.
The background of the dispute traces back to 2015, when Dias had rented the space to a tenant who obtained a trade licence to operate a business. That licence expired the following year, and the premises remained unused for nearly nine years.
Yet, when Dias applied for a new licence, the Corporation insisted that the old dues must be cleared before any fresh approval can be granted.
Advocate Joel Pinto represented the petitioner, while Advocates Somnath Karpe and Anand Shirodkar appeared for the CCP.
