Mapusa Additional Sessions Judge Sherin Paul who is the designated Judge for the Special Court being on leave this week will on Monday 3rd January fix the date for the trial to commence in the infamous 2008 Panaji Police Station attack case.
Panaji MLA Babush Monserrate and Revenue Minister Jennifer Monserrate are the main accused in the case which has been pending in the High Court for the last seven years.
The charge sheet against the Monserrates and 35 others was filed by the CBI. One of the accused Chandan Karapurkar has since passed away. Justice Manish Pitale of the Bombay High Court at Goa on 22nd December in a 31 paged judgment while dismissing the applications seeking quashing of the proceedings filed by Jennifer Monserrate directed that the trial should commence and be expedited as there was prima facie evidence against the accused.
In a letter petition to the Administrative Judge of the High Court on 9th November it was pointed out by Adv. Aires Rodrigues that the Supreme Court being concerned about the criminalization of politics had directed that the criminal cases against politicians should be fast tracked but that it had not happened in Goa at least in the Panaji Police Station attack case in which Babush Monserrate and his wife Jennifer stand charge sheeted by the CBI for having on 19th February 2008 attacked and damaged the Panaji Police Station.
Adv. Rodrigues also stated that the very questionable stay of the criminal trial granted by the High Court on 4th December 2014 that has continued for seven long years was contrary to a Supreme Court order that any stay granted by the High Court expires in six months and that unless extension is granted the trial must go ahead.
Adv. Aires Rodrigues had also sent a copy of his letter petition also to the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.
