PANAJI
The Pramod Sawant-led cabinet on Tuesday approved the Goa Advocate Protection Bill, which will be tabled in the upcoming monsoon session of the Assembly.
The legislation aims to safeguard lawyers from threats and attacks while discharging their professional duties.
In addition, the government has issued ordinances amending the Cooperative Societies Act to facilitate housing schemes, including flat allotments. The cabinet on Tuesday also cleared related amendment bills to be introduced in the House.
Goa has witnessed alarming assaults on lawyers, most recently the brutal Morjim attack where a High Court advocate and his elderly client were beaten with iron rods and forced to sign withdrawal papers.
The incident had intensified demands for immediate passage of the Goa Advocate Protection Bill even as the Bombay High Court at Goa transferred the probe to a senior officer, citing “serious lapses” by Pernem police in providing protection despite prior demolition orders.
The court also condemned administrative failures and warned of disciplinary action.
Separately the Goa High Court Bar Association and other lawyer bodies had also condemned the attack as a direct assault on justice. They issued an ultimatum to the government to pass the Advocate Protection Bill without delay, warning of collapse into mobocracy if safeguards are not enacted.
