PANAJI
In a major relief for Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho, the North Goa Sessions Court has acquitted him in connection with the 1998 power rebate case.
Godinho, who was Power Minister at the time, was accused of granting rebates to industrial units that allegedly caused a loss of Rs 4.52 crore to the State exchequer.
The case was brought to light by the then Leader of Opposition, late Manohar Parrikar, who filed a complaint against the minister. In the verdict pronounced on Monday in open court, Special Judge Irshad Agha acquitted Godinho of all charges.
The minister, who was present when the order was delivered, said he had waited nearly three decades to be cleared.
“I have waited for 27 long years to get justice. I am extremely happy today that justice has been delivered. It has proved the majesty of law,” he told reporters outside court.
The minister also did not mince words claiming it was politically motivated.
“...I have always said this was not prosecution as such, this was political persecution. I have always maintained it from the beginning. Ultimately truth has to triumph," he added.
Reflecting on the toll the case had taken on his public life, Godinho said he was subjected to a media trial that left him socially isolated.
"I remember in the earlier days, I could not even go for public functions. The way the press came, it was first a media trial. I stopped going to church because everybody thought I had done something wrong,” he said.
In the chargesheet based on which the trial followed, the prosecution argued that a 25 per cent rebate on electricity tariffs was issued to industrial units under a notification dated June 27, 1998, allowing concessions from the moment electricity supply commenced.
Parrikar had alleged that the rebate was granted without cabinet approval, violating the Rules of Business governing government decisions. Godinho, however, said he had acted on legal advice.
When asked about Parrikar, Godinho refrained from being critical.
"Any other Leader of Opposition, not me, would have done the same thing. He did his best to defame a person from the other side of the fence. Politically we were always aligned for or against the ruling or Opposition, so why should I blame him?,” Godinho said.
The Crime Branch had arrested Godinho and former chief electrical engineer T Nagarajan in May 2001. Both were later granted bail.
In 2006, the special court framed charges against Godinho under the Prevention of Corruption Act and section 120B of the Indian Penal Code. He challenged the charges before the High Court of Bombay at Goa but in 2007, the HC held there was prima facie material to continue the trial. In 2018, his plea was dismissed by the Supreme Court, which upheld the High Court’s decision.
