PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa will take up for final hearing on July 8 a petition challenging a trial court order that directed the police to register an FIR into bribery allegations made by former minister Pandurang Madkaikar.
At the last hearing, Justice Valmiki Menezes asked all parties, including the respondents, to file a compilation of judgments and a short summary of their arguments by July 3.
The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), in its criminal revision plea, has asked the High Court to cancel the Principal District and Sessions Court’s order dated June 9, which directed that an FIR be registered based on Madkaikar’s public comments. Madkaikar had allegedly said that he paid Rs 15-20 lakh to get his official files cleared.
The trial court’s order came after citizen activists moved the court against the ACB’s decision to close the inquiry. The ACB had cited Madkaikar’s later retraction as the reason to drop the case and file a closure report, with Madkaikar claiming that his remarks referred to a penalty payment, not a bribe.
However, Judge Irshad Agha ruled that the video recording of Madkaikar’s statement was sufficient prima facie evidence to register an FIR under anti-corruption laws.
