MARGAO
The fate of former Minister Mickky Pacheco and Colva resident Mathew Diniz will be decided on May 10 in the Majorda casino case as the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class, Margao, has reserved order in the case after hearing of arguments on framing of charges against the duo.
While both Mickky and Mathew have prayed to the court for a discharge, the prosecution has vehemently opposed the plea, insisting on framing of criminal cases in the case.
While the defence lawyers harped on the delay in filing the chargesheet by the police given that the incident had taken place over eight years ago, Assistant Public Prosecutor Colman Rodrigues submitted before the court that as per section 468 of the Cr PC, there is no time limit to file
chargesheet if the punishment for an offence is more than three years. In the instant case, APP Rodrigues pointed out that section 506 Part II of IPC exists, and which is punishable for seven years, while arguing that the chargesheet is not time barred.
Initially, Mickky’s lawyer Adv Srikhant Nayak had argued that his client was discharged in a similar case by the Judicial Magistrate First Class three years ago. He argued that the former minister cannot be tried for the same offence again.
AAP Rodrigues, however, had argued that the case in which Mickky and Mathew were discharged and the instant case are two separate cases that took place on two different days and lodged by two different complainants.
