Panaji: Social activist Aires Rodrigues on Monday produced a lease agreement signed between the owners of the controversial restaurant at Assagao village in North Goa and a company allegedly linked to the husband of Union Minister Smriti Irani.
Rodrigues has told the investigating authorities that property under survey number 236/22 of Village Assagao where Silly Souls Bar and Café was stated to be located was leased to Eightall Food and Beverages LLP by Anthony DGama through his son with effect from January 01, 2021 for a period of ten years at a monthly rent of Rs 50,000.
Eightall Food and Beverages LLP is allegedly linked to Zubin Irani, the husband of Smriti Irani. Rodrigues placed the agreement before investigating authority through an affdavit.
Talking to reporters after the hearing before Excise Commissioner on Monday, Advocate Benedict Nazareth, representing DGama family said that the agreement of lease never culminated into a lease deed.
“There is distinction between agreement of lease and lease deed. Agreement of lease says that the parties would enter into a lease deed, if they wish to under transfer of property act,” he explained.
“Every lease has to be by a registered document. This agreement for lease never culminated into a lease deed therefore no rights were created to the parties under this,” Nazareth added.
Nazareth said that there were no arguments done before the authority on Monday as the matter was fixed for the complainant (Rodrigues) to file his reply.
Rodrigues in his reply has said that the Goans domiciled in Mumbai are not governed by Portuguese Civil Code 1867. “It is undisputed fact that the respondent was domiciled in Mumbai by his own admission,” he said.
Rodrigues was responding to the claim by DGamas that the Excise licence has been inherited by wife of Anthony after his death as per the Portuguese Civil Code.
He has also mentioned in the reply that Excise licence for the sale of liquor is not an asset but just a permission to do something and lapses on the death of the licensee and is not transferable.
“The excise licence is not vintage to be granted under erstwhile Portuguese law. It is a fundamental and elementary law that Excise Licence has been granted under the Goa Excise Duty Act, 1964,” the reply reads adding that when licence holder has died, it is bounded duty of heir or successor to apply to the Excise Officer and have the licence transferred in his or her name.
Rodrigues said that the respondents and his agents taking advantage of COVID-19 pandemic and then then prevailing lockdown managed to obtain Excise licence by circumventing the law but thanks to Right to Information Act all those illegalities have come to light.
The Excise Commissioner has posted the case for October 13 for the final arguments on the matter.
