PANAJI
The Directorate of Prosecution has given its go-ahead to government’s proposal for filing an appeal against the acquittal of a bus driver in the Calvim bus tragedy wherein four students and two adults met a watery grave on February 18, 2012.
Days after Additional Sessions Judge (North Goa), Edgar Fernandes acquitted Rajesh Naik for ‘want of evidence,’ the State set up a team to examine the order to challenge the acquittal in the High Court of Bombay at Goa.
“We studied the order thoroughly and came to a conclusion that various aspects covered in the police investigation and submissions made in the trial court were not taken into consideration. We, therefore, sought legal opinion to challenge the order,” a senior Secretariat official, who oversaw the matter between the government and the DoP, told The Goan.
The file was just recently approved by the DoP.
After nine years, 18 months, and nine days of trial, the court on December 23, 2022, acquitted Naik while pointing at the prosecution’s failure to prove that Naik either drove the bus in a rash and negligent manner or took the bus fully knowing that the handbrake of the bus was not functioning and that front tyre was worn out.
In its 16-page judgment, Fernandes observed that “the evidence on record, therefore, suggests that the incident occurred due to a sudden brake failure.”
The Court also noted that former North Goa Collector Mihir Vardan did not follow the basic requirements of Section 164 Cr.P.C while recording the statement. During the trial, Vardan deposed that he did not inquire with Naik if he was in police or judicial custody at the time of recording his statement.
The tragedy prompted the then Digambar Kamat-led Congress government to cancel the Carnival celebrations minutes before its flag-off in Panaji. The incident also purportedly played a major role in ex-Aldona MLA Dayanand Narvekar’s electoral loss, which was slated in the following month, as locals blamed the then government for not heeding their repeated requests for Calvim bridge.
