PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Tuesday directed the local authorities to fence the site of the demolished ‘Murgao Cha Raja’ shed at Sada within two days, putting the South Goa Collector and Superintendent of Police under a direct mandate to personally supervise the work and ensure police protection.
The direction comes amid continued resistance to the Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) taking possession of its land after the demolition of the unauthorised structure, which had served as a venue for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations for over 15 years. The Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar, during the ongoing hearing on Tuesday, also came down heavily on Mahesh Mesta and Vedant Chodankar, two persons named as accused in an FIR over the alleged assault on MPA officials who went to fence the property after the demolition.
The Bench was told during the hearing that fencing the site under police protection would resolve the problem, after which it directed the local police station to provide personnel on Wednesday and Thursday and ordered the South Goa Collector and SP to personally supervise the exercise.
Questioning Mesta and Chodankar over their objection to the authorities taking back the property, the Bench asked them, “Who are you to ask them? Is this your land?”
When the two replied in the negative but sought to explain that locals had been organising celebrations there for several years, the Bench made it clear that this did not give them any right over the property. “You have no business on the land anymore,” the Bench told them.
The court further observed that their conduct had forced the entire State machinery to step in to enforce its directions. “Only because of you, the entire State machinery will have to be mobilised. We are mobilising the State machinery at your cost,” the Court remarked.
The two men sought to tender an unconditional apology, to which the Bench posted the matter for November 5 and directed both to remain personally present at 2.30 pm.
On October 7, MPA officials were allegedly assaulted when they visited the site after the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) completed the demolition of the shed and attempted to take possession of the property by erecting barricades.
Mesta and Chodankar were named among the accused in the FIR for allegedly using force and obstructing the implementation of the High Court’s directions. The MPA also informed the court that Chodankar had earlier approached it seeking modification of the court’s order.
At the October 21 hearing, the court impleaded Mesta and Chodankar as contemnors, observing that obstruction to the implementation of its judicial directions prima facie amounted to contempt.
The dispute over the shed has a much longer history. The structure, erected on MPA land at Headland-Sada, had been used for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations for more than 15 years. The High Court had directed its demolition in 2011, and the Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to that order in December 2020.
Despite the order attaining finality, the structure remained standing. The MMC Chief Officer subsequently assured the High Court on September 9, 2025, that the demolition would be completed within six weeks. After the civic body failed to honour the assurance, the MPA pursued contempt proceedings to secure compliance.
