the goan I network
MARGAO
Hazard a guess why all the mundkarial cases listed before the Margao Deputy Collector were adjourned on Wednesday for two months?
Litigants and their lawyers had to all return home disappointed as a notice put up outside the Deputy Collector’s office stated that
the presiding officer of the Court, the Margao Deputy Collector Uday Prabhdesai was busy with the law and order situation at the Cutbona fishing jetty.
Take note that all these cases were adjourned by the Deputy Collector’s office last time round on the plea that the presiding officer was preoccupied since he was also holding additional charge as Hospicio Administrator.
While the Deputy Collector, Uday Prabhudesai was indeed at the Cutbona jetty on day one of the fishing season with the Fisheries department taking over the fishing jetty, litigants wondered why they were being made to suffer for no fault of theirs.
A litigant told The Goan that it is not fair to just adjourn the cases when they come from different villages with their lawyers, saying the offices of the quasi-judicial courts should work out a mechanism wherein litigants are communicated of the adjournments and spared the hardship of travelling all the way to the courts.
“Some of the litigants rope in lawyers from Panjim and other places and are forced to pay their fees, notwithstanding the case stands adjourned for want of the Presiding officer,” remarked a litigant.
Moreover, they pointed out that the adjournment of the mundkarial cases, pertaining to appeals/revisions only drag the cases for months and years for want of disposal of the cases on time.
“When the government talks about quick disposal of cases, especially relating to tenancy and mundkarial issues, the authorities need to work out a mechanism to achieved the objective. In this particular case, four months have been lost just because the case has been adjourned because of some extraneous factors,” another litigant said, adding that he has no idea whether the matter will be taken up for hearing at the next date scheduled for hearings is October 3.
