PANAJI
A charge sheet in the 2020 shoot-out at St Cruz has been placed before the North District & Sessions Court for framing charges afresh against the alleged gangsters. The matter is posted for the pre-trial procedure after the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court quashed a second FIR (murder) registered in an attempt to murder case.The High Court had recently passed an order citing a Supreme Court judgment that the second FIR in respect of the same offence or even different offences committed in the course of the same transaction is not impermissible and violates Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
The Court directed the police to treat the second FIR registered under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code as a statement recorded in the course of the investigations of the first FIR under section 307 (attempted murder) of IPC. As such, the charge sheet filed in the second will be treated as a supplementary charge sheet to the first one.
The case pertains to a fight between two gangs that ultimately led to a shootout during the late hours on June 20, 2020. Sonu Yadav had died of bullet injuries in the firing by his own gang.
The FIR against Marcelino Dias and 13 others were registered under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147, 148, 149 (rioting), 450 (house trespass) read with Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and some provisions of the Arms Act. The Old Goa police had thereafter registered a second FIR in the same offence.
The police filed separate charge sheets and the Principal Sessions Judge ordered the framing of murder charges. The accused then challenged the second FIR in the High Court during which the main accused’s counsel, Advocate Arun Bras De Sa argued that the second FIR violates constitutional rights. He nonetheless conceded that the murder charge sheet can always be treated as a supplementary charge sheet to the first one.
Public Prosecutor SG Bhobe conceded that the court could go ahead and quash the FIR after which the High Court directed the Sessions Court to consider the framing of charges afresh on considering both the charge sheets together.
