MARGAO
When the matter came up before Judicial Magistrate First Class, Margao, Pooja Kavlekar for hearing on Monday noon, Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) Shilpa Nagvenkar sought further time to complete the administration process before a formal application is moved before the court for withdrawal of the case.
The APP submitted before the court that two of the accused persons have handed over their affidavitÂ-cumÂ-undertakings to her office only on Monday, adding that it will take time for her to initiate the process for withdrawal of the case.
Judge Kavlekar granted the plea of the APP and adjourned the hearing to March 30. It is learnt that since the APP has collected the affidavitÂ-cumÂ-undertakings from all the 22 accused persons, the same would be submitted before the office of the Director of Prosecution office for information.
When defence lawyer, Adv Pritam Moraes submitted whether the sections invoked by the police are triable by the JMFC, his colleague Adv Rajiv Gomes maintained that the JMFC enjoys the power to pass and order withdrawal of any case from prosecution.
This is the second time that Judge Kavlekar has adjourned the hearing following a plea made by the APP seeking time to file application for withdrawal of the case. Last time round, the APP had sought time to file the application for the case withdrawal on grounds that most of the accused persons had submitted the affidavit-cum-undertakings stating that they will not file any counter cases against the government for lodging the attempt to murder case against them.
Velim MLA Benjamin D’Silva, former Ambelim sarpanch Cruz Silva were also spotted in the court corridors along with the accused persons.
